elaine

I've just finished re-watching, after many years, the first DVD of the old UK-made TV series
"The First Churchills." I would very much like to know about the music used. The music over the opening titles may have been composed for the series, I don't know. However, the music used over the end titles is a classical piece I have heard before, as dance music in the last film version of Pride and Prejudice. I would love to know the sources, or titles, of the music.
Thanks
PS--I promise to think of the music the next time I TRAVEL to visit Blenheim Palace

elaine

topping once

rex

ttt...

Kate

At your service...

Author: Rebecka
Date: 08/08/2005, 12:31 pm
I can't find the posting, but here's my reply for what it's worth:

Hi elaine,

Although I would have to see the series again to identify the specific piece, I know that "The First Churchills" incorporate a lot of music by England's pre-eminent Restoration composer, Henry Purcell (1659-1695), and I am fairly certain that the music used for the end credits is by him. If the opening music is not also by Purcell, it is in the very same style. Purcell composed incidental music for many Restoration plays that are now forgotten; among them The Fairy Queen, Dido and Aeneas, Diocletian and King Arthur. In fact, the end credit piece may be the same one that 20th century composer Benjamin Britten used in an adapted version for his “Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra”, but, again, I’d have to listen to the end credits again to be positive. Sorry not to be more specific but maybe this will at least point you in the right general direction. You may have to listen to several music samples to hit on the right one.

Anyway, I love "The First Churchills"! It was Masterpiece Theatre's first series, and although it did not do that well critically - Alastair Cooke didn't regard it very favorably in his book - I think it is fascinating, but then, I've always been interested in that era anyway. Maybe some people find it too talky and Restoration politics simply too baroque for modern tastes!

Wish I could visit Blenheim, too, elaine. I believe the present duke still lives in a wing of the palace.

Happy listening!

GreenEyedCatWoman

Hi Elaine,
Have you tried watching the closing credits in slow-motion?
The music used in theatrical movies is always listed in the closing credits, along with performer and composer. I would think TV movies would also have to give due credit for music.

ellenem

Here's a link to a site with information about the dance music from "Pride and Prejudice." Strangely, the soundtrack from the production does not include the dance music.

http://www.sls.hawaii.edu/bley-vroma...es/austen.html

elaine

Hi
fodorites always come through!
The Churchills film was made for tv and no individual musical selections are listed in the end credits. That musical piece being by Purcell makes sense as he was of that century.
What I will do is verify that it is the same music that I heard at some point in the P & P film. If it is, P & P might list the musical credit at the end.
If not, I may go trolling on line for Purcell's music to see if I can identify the piece. I have a Handel CD that I haven't played for a while, at home, will also make sure it's not one of his.

ellenem, that website with the info on P&P dance music is amazing, people really provide a lot of detail when they are interested.

thanks (though if anyone else can come up with the specific reference, I'd be happy to get it)

ellenem

elaine,

there are short digital excerpts of each of the dances on linked pages within the Web site. Click on the particular dance listed and you'll go to another page which has the sound links.

smalti

elaine--The main piece used as dance music in P&P was "Mr. Beveridge's Maggot" (17th c., composer unknown). You can listen to a sample and read about other music in P&P:

http://pemberley.com.JA_music.html

Scroll down for the audio sample.

elaine

yes,thanks, I had already checked that selection, it's not the one that's at the end of the "Churchills"

smalti

Sorry for the bum steer, elaine! On top of that, I listed the web site wrong! Should be:

http://www.pemberley.com/JA_Music.html

flanneruk

I've not seen the programme, which originally came out when I didn't have a TV and I don't think has been repeated on terrestrial TV here.

But if you google on "First Churchills" and Purcell you get a reference to "Purcell's music for Queen Mary" (ie the Mary of William and Mary) from someone who sounds as if he knows what he's talking about.

Problem is, Purcell was always writing anthems for her birthday: "Arise, my muse" (1690), "Now does the glorious day appear" (1689) and best known of all, "Come ye sons of Art" (1694). And equally well known, the Music for Queen Mary's Funeral(1695).

Now any decent record shop (certainly over here) has several CDs with Purcell's Queen Mary odes. And certainly Dido+Aeneas and the Fairy Queen are pretty easy to find, both on CD and performed live. Why not just buy them (or go to your nearest Baroque singers' concert) and have the fun of listening?

elaine

"...equally well-known, the Music for Queen Mary's Funeral..."
Not in my neighborhood!
Thanks for the Purcell google though, I couldn't find the same connection, but as I said, Purcell is a logical suggestion.
Even by going to amazon.com, I can,if I'm patient, do a search on CDs with Purcell's music, and in most cases listen to a few seconds of the selections on each album. Since there are over 1100 albums to choose from, this may take a while.
thank you for the suggestion, I'll either keep pursuing this, or admit defeat.

Nimrod

You might try posting your questions on a classical music forum. Here's one, and it has categories for Baroque and Henry Purcell. Could save your search considerable time and effort. Good luck.

I have a feeling there had to be some Vivaldi incorporated into that series.

http://classicalmusicforums.com/

elaine

more help, thanks!
I've posted on that forum.

elaine

just my last update on this
no results on the classical music forum
I went through the Pride and Prejudice film, I seem to have been mistaken about the "Churchills's music" being used in P&P as well, as I couldn't find it.
I emailed the BBC information office, they regret they cannot take the time to research this for me. Oh well, moving on.
thanks all for your suggestions

Christina

I hate it when that happens -- I often get interested in a piece of music from a film, commercial or something, and have not had much luck getting shows or producers to respond to queries. For example, just a few months ago, CBS Sunday morning had a piece on the Rockefellers with some string background music I really liked (which was repeated last week). I had heard the piece before, but couldn't exactly place it. So I wrote the producers and they never even responded at all. This was just a recent piece, also, surely the film producers would know or whoever picks their background music. I think that was a Dvorak string suite, if anyone else saw that and knows, chime in.

Unfortunately, I've found that credits often won't list classical music or other pieces in the film--some do and some don't, but not usually if over credits. Another piece I really liked was the one running through that Julianne Moore movie (End of the Affair), and I had no luck finding that on the credits (which can be really fast and small at the end, especially on video).

I am not familiar with that show, but maybe I'll rent that video and see if I know it. I do have Netflix, anyway. I really liked Upstairs, Downstairs, myself.

elaine

Hi Christina
I rented it on Netflix myself, Netflix is my new best friend.
It turns out that 'The First Churchills' was the very first Masterpiece Theatre presentation in the USA, though of course made in the UK.
Alistair Cook was correct imo (I've got his book from years ago), the production values weren't all that great, and it's a bit dull and hard to follow at times. Still, I've always been a fan of Susan Hampshire's (though, in a feature on the DVD, she disparages this show) and I could spend my time watching many worse things.

If you do happen to rent it, the music I'm wondering about is over the end credits only, the beginning credits have something else. I know you are a classical music expert, so perhaps you will recognize it, I'm hoping that it wasn't music uniquely composed to go with the film, in which case I'll never find it (if it was, I'm very impressed).

miller2312

From: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/archive
About "The First Churchills"

"The bracing theme music is still Jean-Joseph Moret's "Rondeau" from his Symphonies and Fanfares for the King's Supper"

flanneruk

I think you'll find that's the overall theme music for Masterpiece Theatre (I can't bring myself to misspell it).

It's not the incidental music within the BBC "First Churchills" series, featured in this PBS regular.