Had my daughter listen to this when she was 6 years. She stopped and intently listened to the whole piece. Picked up her violin and then played it. She is now a orchestra conductor. All from prog rock 😊😊
Way back when I in college, I attended a lecture by Aaron Copland. When he was asked how he felt about ELP performing his music, he replied, "Well, I prefer my version." After a short pause, he continued, "But I was greatly consoled when the royalty checks came in." A true musician
Keith had hand and wrist surgery shortly after this and just before his suicide. A terrible waste of talent. He was the greatest keyboard artist of his time❤.
Yes, indeed it would. Further, a look as to how the US composer Samuel Barber's great piece The Adagio for Strings (1936), was adapted by him for eight part choir as his Agnus Dei in 1967. It is one of the most moving of choral works, especially when sung a cappella.
I have the first section of the original Piano version of Pictures. I shall have to listen to the full version. I have heard the full orchestral version though.
Because of ELP's PaaE, I bought the solo piano and both Ravel and Stokowski orchestrations. I would like to see this also. If we are talking Copland how about a compare and contrast with Hoedown from Rodeo?
The part about this that most people miss is what Greg and Carl are doing. They put on an absolute clinic on how a rhythm section should work together. Think about what both were capable of on their instruments, yet there they are, holding it down with such precision and taste, letting Keith fly where he will.
Totally agree. I started playing drums 45 years ago because of this track. The rhythm section is so dense..there's always something new to listen to each time...and its about both Carl AND Greg each input so much to this behind the flambuoyant Keith.
I agree. Doug was to preoccupied with Copeland and similarities with the original, to comment on the X’lnt drumming and bass. The rhythm section is really good
That video cut the fade out. The bass riff continues after that last chord and fades over the next ten seconds or so. An amazing piece by Copland and an amazing interpretation by ELP. I am a long term fan of both.
Yes. The album version continues for a bit less a minute and fades as you say. Also has a timpani at the start before the keys come in. czcams.com/video/ZDLYdqmZqkY/video.html
In the late 70s my friend Ron and I were hitchhiking from LI to New Paltz NY to rock climb. We were picked up by Aaron's partner and ended up stopping at Aaron's house. He played the piano for us for about an hour. He was a musical genius. We really did not know who he was until we got back home and researched him. Unreal experience !!
I attended Ottawa University, just down the road from KU. In 1976, we had Aaron Copeland visit our campus and conduct the Kansas City Symphony for a concert that opened with the Fanfare. I consider myself very fortunate to have experienced this.
University of Denver, a few years after your occasion. We had rehearsed the daylights out of his music in anticipation of the visit, and we were warned that Mr Copeland was getting on in years, to be patient with him, if he asked us to repeat something without remembering we'd already done it, we were to go along, etc. etc. When he arrived, Mr Copeland bounded into the room, and quite possibly had more energy than all of us combined. But the focus he wielded with that energy - that really stood out. And more - I'll never forget him _dancing_ at the flutes in a section of Appalachian Spring, and then having them dance while he played it on the piano. When the flutes went back at it, all of a sudden it was a dance, not just well-rehearsed notes. AMAZING musicianship growth in the week he was there, for all of us. I will never forget that, nor him.
ELP playing in Olympic Stadium in Montreal on a cold cold February day outside. As a boy who grew up there, this is unbelievable piece. It is the song of Montreal.
There's some fun antics about getting this piece on the album. ELP's label rightly noted that they would need Copeland's permission to use his music, but wanted to send an abridged tape for Copeland to review, prompting Emerson to insist on sending Aaron the full track. Copeland then recalls listening to it and being "confused" by hearing his fanfare set over a shuffle drumbeat, but deciding that if ELP were motivated enough to arrange the music that way, he was willing to let them perform it.
It's interesting. The story I read was that Copeland was sent the abridged version and didn't like it. He said he didn't think they'd really done anything special to the piece. Then Keith sent the full version and Copeland was like "That's more like it!"
A couple of additional historical and musical notes regarding ELP's version of Fanfare. Recording engineer John Timperley is the real hero as he - on his own initiative - decided to record the spontaneous jam that was occurring once Greg started the shuffle/boogie bassline. Note - it was all recorded through a single stero mic. ELP subsequently tried to record it properly, but it never had the same inspiration/magic, thus they wound up using the original recording (they did do some overdubs to fill it out). Also, this was Keith's debut of the stunning (and eye-wateringly expensive) GX-1 Yamaha synthesizer (the forefather of much more affordable synthesizers to come) which gave the main theme that glorious, ethereal sound; it was a drastic departure from his established Hammond/Moog/Steinway arsenal of gear. Also, Greg was playing an Alembic 8-string bass with a pick which added its own distinctive percussive sound (when locked in with the drums, more rhythmically prominent). Thank you for nice overview Doug.
You probably know the GX1 was destroyed in an accident. John Paul Jones sold Keith his GX1 (used on In through the out door). You're right they were insanely expensive, 60Gs at the time. I wonder how many are left out there
I am from Montreal and was lucky enough to see ELP perform this live in 77 . It was an epic concert with the full symphony orchestra in the background.
As a British follower of your channel,I love both versions of Fanfare for the Common Man, but I was never sure which one I preferred the most. That is until the morning of 9/11 when I watched America go through the trauma of that day, when I watched in horror as the brave New York firefighters unhesitatingly entered those burning towers,I quite unconsciously reached for Aaron Copeland's version, and put it on my CD player. I wanted to pay my respects to all those caught up in that dreadful event, but it was my way of saying America will get through this and rise again.Thank you Aaron Copeland and you Doug for exploring both versions of this wonderful piece of music. p.s. I got to see ELP in my home city of Liverpool in the late 1970s. Cheers from the UK. 🇺🇸🇬🇧
Greg's Alembic Scorpion bass was, as you note, eight strings, four pairs of strings tuned to octaves of each other. I also found it interesting that it was wired in stereo, so he pumped the bass in one channel, and the treble in the other, which not only allows you to hear the bassline clearly, but you can hear every strike of the pick on the strings, as well as that slide up the strings near the end of the piece. Not sure I would have made that choice, but then, I'm no Greg Lake...
I was able to see them perform it in concert several times, unfortunately sans orchestra, but it was still so exciting! I'll never forget during one performance, there was a ton of dry ice fog on the stage and the three guys rose up on a platform to the stage each holding a light saber as the first piercing notes came from the horn synthesizer! It was just so fantastic!
If there was ever a time I actually paid attention in an afternoon class, it would be with Doug teaching it. Fascinating stuff. I enjoyed the intro to the music. Very fun, informal, unique reaction channel. Thanks Doug.
My experience spans from listening to great big band drummers as a young boy. Getting a snare drum at age of 10. Joining school band. My brother started on pedal steel guitar and switched to bass so we could form or get into established bands. We found other good musicians our age, I had gotten a drum set for my 12th birthday and learned all the popular teen songs by rote. The guitar players that came and went as young teens were all students of jazz great Dale Bruning. I believe contemporary of Jim Hall. After playing professionally for many years, you see back in the sixties there were plenty of gigs for teen dances and a live band was a must. You were auditioned by dance committee and had to play all the hits. I eventually received acceptance at CU music school and then became a jazzbo. Was drummer for Rare Silk who had nominated jazz record at Grammies. Tired of living on the road i got job as timpanist for philharmonic and was there 17 years. I had lost the hearing in my left ear and tinnitus to add to ending career. At 70 I still listen and continue to learn about newer rock scene. I love to talk about music and my experiences, hey, it’s what us old guys do. Looking forward to conversing. Thx
My fellow choristers and I had the signal privilage of performing under the baton of Aaron Copeland at London's Royal Albert Hall. Among the orchestral and choral works of his, Maestro Copeland conducted us in The Promise of Living. Even to young singers such as we were, it was obvious this man carried music in every nerve and sinew of his being. He was the antithesis of a demonstrative or dramatic conductor. Each move of a finger, each glace in one's direction delivered what he wanted of each of us. I have sung under great conductors, from Karajan to Britten to Matthias to Gardiner, but none radiated rhythm and mood as Aaron Copeland did.
I'm not a musician, but being older, my appreciation for music has grown more complex, listening to individual instruments and parts of songs. The first "prog" band I got into was Rush. I wasn't aware of what the genre really was, but it turned me on to bands like ELP. Thanks for letting me relive some of the music I grew up on in a fresh light 🙂
Listening to ELP gave me a greater appreciation for classical music, especially their rendition of Pictures at an Exhibition, which has since become my all-time favorite classical work. I also enjoy Keith's versions of the Intermezzo to Sibelius' Karelia Suite, Tchaikovsky's Pathetique Symphony No. 6, Third Movement, and Brandenburger, adapted from J.S. Bach, all of which he recorded with The Nice. I also enjoy Isao Tomita's synthesized renditions of classical works as well, especially Holst's The Planets (my second favorite classical work). While I can't read music or understand one note or chord from another, I enjoy hearing your insights into how and why a particular composition works successfully, and your explanation about Fanfare just makes me love and appreciate this song that much more. Thank you for all you do for us music lovers.
I vaguely remember that Gustav Holst's daughter/Holst's Estate was unhappy with Isao Tomita's version of "The Planets Suite". Ms. Holst sued Tomita (or maybe his recording company) and all the records were removed from the market. But somebody out there may have an LP/cassette/8 - track cartridge that got out before the embargo.
I have a story about this piece of music. The BBC used Fanfare for the Common Man to introduce all the televised programs of the Apollo missions in the sixties and seventies. I was 8 or 9 when I first heard it and didn't know what it was called. I wrote to the BBC asking what it was called and where I could get a copy. They wrote back telling me the name but said the the music was licensed and they did not know of any recordings that I could purchase. When ELP released their version I went straight out and bought it. I love their version and forgot how the original sounded until tonight some 50 years later. Thankyou for bringing back the memory of watching those Apollo missions on TV with my mum and dad.
This piece makes me weep every. single. time. The simplicity, the clarity and Copeland's ability to give musical voice to what one can only call the sound of the American Spirit. Absolutely AMAZING piece, and I can't say enough good things about ELP's version.
There another video out there where Keith was using another composers work and asked for permission and the composer said no, and Keith got on a plane and flew out to meet him and explain his case about who he is as an artist and the composer gave permission. I’m appreciative that these artists went to such lengths to have us learn these types of things.
@@timothypachonka8642Yep - the way I heard it Emerson was being blocked from speaking directly to Ginastera by phone, so he got on a plane and went to visit him face-to-face. I am always amazed how much Ginastera's original version sounded to ELP's version - different instrumentation and arrangement for sure but Ginastera's version was surprisingly advanced in its original form.
I was fortunate to grow up with the Nice, Atomic Rooster and King Crimson, and then the incredible ELP experience! I was introduced to so many wonderful classical pieces by Keith Emersons adaptations, especially Sibelius and Copeland. Exquisite timeless music. Breathtaking ELP live version in Montreal. Thank you for the great episode
This is the track that turned me into a composer and producer…never heard a synthesiser growl like that…only Keith could do that. Brilliant Doug. Love The channel! Best from Australia.
The Gewandhaus Orchestra. Outstanding in their field. Copland is an American Treasure. To me his music is what America at its finest sounds like. This piece, Hoedown, Appalachian Spring, Our Town...just spectacular. And ELP honors the original and makes it their own in an amazing way Thanks Doug. Well done.
@@bigmanlars40 except that they are "lip-syncing" - notice the lack of microphones! And were it to be played in the open like that, the sound would dissipate into the ether
Doug, that was outstanding. I have listened to ELP for 50 years. They introduced me to classical music. The background you gave on this was fascinating. I don’t read music but your enthusiasm is engaging.
I think that's your best show that I've heard from you, Doug. The background to the composition was fascinating, the German rendition is achingly beautiful, the ELP version was just So Much Fun, and your heartfelt soliloquy at the end was a perfect topping. Thank you, sir.
Absolutely agree. Until now, I had only ever heard the ELP version, being a young adult when it first came to being. I am equally impressed by the original version as well.
As much as I love prog rock, the German rendition at the beginning just tugs at the heart strings. There’s a haunting beauty to how they performed that, it’s really chilling in an inspiring way. The brass has such a rich sound.
One of the true highlights of my life was once sitting on the Capitol Lawn ( 1981? ) watching Aaron Copland conduct the National Symphony Orchestra in a performance of his " Fanfare for the Common Man." Incredible!
First time I heard this was my high school graduation from Omaha Northwest in 1977. It brought tears to my eyes then, and still does every time I hear it. Thank you so much for the back story.
I had the opportunity to see Aaron Copland conduct the Miami University (OH) Orchestra while I was there as an undergraduate in 1976. The concert ended with Mr. Copland conducting the brass and percussion sections in "Fanfare for the Common Man" for an outdoor finale. Fabulous!
Thank you Doug for doing this)) The German version is really excellent)) I was lucky enough to see ELP's Works tour in 1977 with the orchestra. Piano Concerto, Pirates, Fanfare was magical. Hearing Keith's Concerto with the orchestra was very moving for me (as a trained classical pianist myself). I have always loved ELP's interpretation. BTW, Keith named one of his sons Aaron, in homage to Mr. Copeland.
I saw them on that tour but after the orchestra had been dismissed. Still, clearly, just the three of them were exceptional. Personally, I prefer ELP without the orchestration. But, I seem to recall reading, or hearing, Keith say in an interview with the orchestra he was hearing his music played the way he had always wanted to hear it. I would NEVER try to argue music with Keith so if that's what he wanted I'm glad he had the experience, even though it was unfortunately brief.
Keith Emerson, a musical genius. "Takes one to know one" applies here with Aaron Copeland in mind. I was unaware of the 43' connection and just how it imparts this symbolic "pendulum starting to swing to victory"(WWII Europe and the Pacific) value, to the composition. The common man is granted a worthy majesty. A truly appropriate fanfare indeed. The absent massed audience of the stadium, rises to it's feet with tumultuous applause. A deep insight, thanks Doug.
Thank you, Doug! Presentations like this are why you are the best. You bring your vast knowledge of music, combine it with genuine deep study of the background, show your deep reverence for music, and all the while have obvious joy and fun with all of it. Learning more about the history (hooray for my town, Cincinnati, and our fantastic Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra!), and seeing Aaron Copeland's score was wonderful, and the presentation of the original piece gave me chills and brought a tear to my eyes. I love your love and respect for Keith Emerson, and it's always fun when you do something he's involved in, because your excitement at the prospect of listening to him shines through every frame of the video.
I got the video on VHS and it plays until the end of the album version. The YT version is from that time when videos were time limited. It's frustrating, it gives such a bad ending to that marvelous piece! It's one of my favorites of ELP. Thanks, Doug, for exploring it so brilliantly.
While in Montreal, during their 1977 tour of America, the band was rehearsing in the basement of the Olympic stadium, the only space available sufficiently large to accommodate themselves and the orchestra. During a coffee break, Lake took the lift upstairs, and was struck by the spectacle of the empty stadium under a carpet of snow, and was inspired to hold a jam session in the unique environment. They organized for their equipment to be set up early the following morning, and a video recordist to document the proceedings. Despite the extreme cold, the trio, dressed in their warmest gear, completed a version of Fanfare in four separate "takes", filming each member individually, then one of the trio
I have read this account, but I'm pretty sure it's not quite accurate. Rehearsals in Montreal took place before the 1977-78 Works tour, not during the tour. As you can see, it is winter in the video, and according to the ELP Archive, the first concert of the tour was May 24 in Louisville. The only performance at Montreal Olympic Stadium was on August 26. This was the last time they used the orchestra on the tour, per ELP Archive. An excellent source on the ELP video is Greg's autobiography, Lucky Man, starting on page 195 and going to page 205,
ELP introduced me to Copland. Who rapidly became, and remains, my favourite classical composer. Fantastic band. And fantastic composer. I know it is not regarded as one of his best pieces, but the "Billy the Kid" suite is perhaps my favourite of all, along with this piece. And really enjoyed Doug's introduction!
I was very pleased to be able to meet Keith and Greg backstage in 2010 (check my avatar - that's me in the middle). IIRC, the sound for that clip was recorded in the studio. I'd be a little surprised if the Moog would hold it's tuning correctly in such cold conditions; the drums might have had similar problems as well. That venue was used for the 1993 live album "Works Live", although the recording was made in August of 1977. Being summer, there wasn't any snow then. Keith was infamous for making the fans think he was doing something that he wasn't really doing. A classic example is wedging the keys with a dagger, but making people think that the keyboard screamed because he stabbed it. Thanks for shedding light on the background material.
I haven't listened to the original for several years and this was a beautiful rendition. Full confession: I thought it was an ELP original when I first heard it as a kid. Good choice for this beautiful Friday. Thanks Doug
The next step would be ELP's version of Ginastera's Toccata--which the composer thought was uncanny, that it captured something that he was going for but didn't quite achieve in the original version for orchestra.
That was the coolest anecdote in the Brain Salad Surgery interview! Emerson said they played their version of Toccata for a stunned Ginastera, who said simply "Diabolic!" And the band were initially worried that the composer hated it. But it was a good "diabolic" after all, and now many more people know of Ginastera because of ELP.
The ELP version shown, took place in the roofless Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and was a warmup for their main show. The roof was open to the very cold outdoors because it had been damaged in a storm.
I'm sure any dairy cows in the pasture appreciated being serenaded. I didn't know the background story to that piece which I find fascinating. It is truly inspirational, powerful and generates goose flesh. I played in brass ensemble while in college and always love hearing anything done by brass instruments. Thank you, Doug.
I know nobody cares about this. But coming across this video sparked a memory I have about this piece that I look back fondly upon. Way before the NBA started having their laser filled over the top player introductions. My friend and I put together a choreographed opening for our high school basketball team when they took the floor to warm up. He had gotten the WORKS album in the summer of 78 and we both loved Fanfare. So we started planning how to use it for the pregame. We had the lights go off and as the first boom comes in, a spotlight shines from one corner of the gym to the other where the team would enter. When the horns kicked in the cheerleaders came out rolling out an orange carpet the center of the court. Then as the music reached the big crescendo, our most athletic player slammed the ball in perfect timing. Then the lights came on as the rest of the team ran out on the floor and warmed up to the rest of Fanfare. At the time it was hard for two 17 year old kids to convince a reluctant coach and school administrators what we were up to was going to be great. And it was.
I saw a video on CZcams once of an orchestra playing the original piece and then going into ELP arrangement. They really came to life when they started playing the ELP arrangement.
An amazing piece. Reminds me of what angels might sound like announcing the return of Christ. It also put me in mind of a lone cowboy, riding up on a ride at as dawn breaks, as he pauses to look at an untouched America. You can feel the drums and horns in your bones, a vast but contained power. It's majestic.
Being 14 and having no exposure to classical music in the SW part of the US, Emerson Lake and Palmer introduced me to music I would have never been exposed to other than in cartoons. Have seen ELP many times since, the last time it was at the Brady theatre in Tulsa, OK. A 250 seat former movie theater. Probably the best concert I have ever seen.
I really love how you explain the historical context to set up the analysis of the music itself and the further historical contest of how ELP adapted Copland's piece. You are an ornament to our stage.
Good job here, Doug; perhaps the best I've seen you do. I appreciated the historical backdrop of the piece; the two versions that you played. I don't always appreciate your harmonic analysis, especially when it's not an important part of the piece, but in this case it's a valuable addition. Even seeing the original score was fascinating to me; seeing how Copland organized and penned the score. Thank You.
I vividly remember hearing Copeland 's piece for the first time over the radio when I was in college. Afterward, I frantically asked everyone present what the piece was. It was a few years later, that I finally found my answer. To this day, it moves me as few other pieces do. Its simplicity is what makes it so amazing.
In 1976, I attended an event where FFTCM was played. Since I had never heard it before, I was awestruck. I had to find out what that piece was and who in the heck wrote it. Long story short, within a few months I had purchased every Aaron Copland album I could find. Most of the pieces were recorded with him actually conducting the orchestra. I had a new hero! Appalachian Spring was my favorite, but I burned myself out on it. There is a piece that is on one of those albums which I just cannot get away from. Dance Panels has to be one of the most underrated classical pieces ever composed. I absolutely love it. It seems to me that Mr. Copland, with the strings and woodwinds, has mimicked a chorus of wild birds. It's such a somber piece. Most mornings, I get up and sit while sipping a cup of coffee and listening to this. Back to Fanfare: Although I used to listen to ELP quite a bit, I had never heard their version of Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man. And I wouldn't have listened to it if you hadn't "explored" it. Thank you for doing that. I really enjoyed it.
The 1977 Tour had an orchestra touring with them but not for every show: Denver did not get the full staged version, sadly. But due to the costs imposed by Tour arrangements for the Orchs (Tolkien joke?), EL&P extended that tour into 1978 and came to Ft Collins, where they played another fantastic show. Those were my 2nd & 3rd (and last 😢) EL&P shows, all in Colorado; "Love Beach" was like a Divorce announcement. 🎉😮🎉
As a trumpet player, I love this piece, and I use it as a warm up sometimes. I like how you gave backstory and showed off the score. Please do more like this!
As a former trumpet player, that part is not hard to play. It would be fun. What is challenging is playing loud upper register staccato notes that come out of nowhere without a run up. That's exposure... and exciting.
This was excellent. I have loved the original piece for years, and when ELP’s version came out, I loved it too. Your explanation allowed me to enjoy both versions even more. Thank you!
I love this. I was a percussionist back in the sixties and early seventies. I love playing the tympani. 😮And Doug, I loved Tarkus. I bought the album before I ever heard the band’s music. It was the cover art that got me. After listening I was an ELP aficionado from then on.
I was one of the stage crew for this recording at Montreal's Olympic Stadium. Just a young lad at the time, but I had a blast with the boys and the techs.
Thank you SO MUCH, Doug for introducing me to the ORIGINAL Aaron Copeland version of this piece that I have only known as the ELP version since my youth. . BOTH versions are outstanding in their own ways. . LOVE THEM and they wil now forever be part of my musical library. . (Although, at my age "forever" isn't a long time 😉) Thanks from Australia. . .
A Master Class. Big thank you to Doug. Somehow this reminds me of their version of Nutrocker... the Tchaikovsky pop rock tune....but with a classical twist. ELP beat centric interpretation makes it an outstanding modern interpretation, - innovative excellence. The side benefit of ELP bringing classical compositions to the masses of rock enthusiasts is a better appreciation of classical. What they did with Mussorsky Pictures was even more impressive - the Sage and Gates especially.
Love Copeland (almost as much as Stravinsky). Had the joy of playing this as a brass choir exercise. One of the keys in performing this piece always seems to be managing the tempo to the room. The echo/decay dictates the tempo, much like listening to a pipe organ: the hall is an integral part of the instrument. The ELP version is fun and exciting! The trumpet fanfare was truly brass. This is the tour where they had an orchestra with them for many of the shows. To have been a fly on the wall when they cut this live. One key thing about ELP is their communication when playing live (watch Keith and Carl in the live filming of "Pictures;" it is magical.)
The patchboard behind the keyboard, that was quite literally the way early synthesizers worked. The board had various waveform generators, filters, envelopes, etc. You ran a cord from this to that, another cord from here to there, and wrote down the "patch", how you set it all up in a notebook. And to this day we still call the various sounds we produce with synthesizers "patches", even though we aren't running cords all over. Now all of my patches are in two little boxes and I use a wind synth instead of a keyboard. The technology is amazing!
I love Aaron Copeland. I listen to his music often. I listen to a lot of classical music on NPR on my local (Denver) classical station. I also listen to a lot of Led Zeppelin (whom I also consider to be classical musicians from another era). I also enjoy Debussy, Eric Satie, and Stravinsky.
I've been familiar with ELP's version since it first became available, but this was my first time listening to the original version. Deeply deeply moving!
Thanks for sharing. I've heard parts of that piece several times but never took the time to appreciate it. It is beautiful. The Gewandhausorchester version brought a tear to my eye.
Played the Fanfare in high school in 1961 for the dedication of one of our small town's new churches. We were of a caliber which could produce the sound; three of the musicians eventually earned Ph.D.'s for performance, and had major academic and performance careers; I, as the tuba player, also had a good stint in performance and recordings in New York City until the draft caught up with me in 1969.
The very first rock concert given at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal, built for the 1976 games, but unfortunately not finished in time, since there was not yet the retractable roof. Imagine playing outdoors by -20 Celsius (-4 Fahrenheit), with 18 inches of snow on the ground and all that, in front of empty seats. Part of an interview with Greg Lake: LAKE: I remember we were rehearsing in a basement beneath the Olympic stadium. It was the only place large enough to fit the whole orchestra in to rehearse. A phone call came in and I had to go up and take it, and everyone took a coffee break. So during that break I took the elevator up to the ground floor, which actually took me to the Olympic stadium. And I went up to the stadium and I was looking at this absolutely mind-blowing site, covered in virgin snow, with the Olympic rings lit up in neon lights at both ends. It was an eerie sight, begging for something to happen, and I thought, ‘Video.’ We got the crew to move the gear up to the stadium the next day to start recording. Of course, what we didn’t plan was for it to be way below zero. My fingers would literally slip through the strings. So we had to record it in fairly short bursts, but it was a lovely film in the end.
About 33 or so years ago when I was still playing trumpet (I had to stop because of an accident while I was playing a Jazz gig), my wife and I took our 2 kids to the Grand Canyon and camped for 3 days. On the third day, they all wanted to go shopping at the gift shop so I took the opportunity to grab my trumpet and head out to the farthest point on Powell Point. It was a cold day and there was nobody around. I played through "Fanfare For The Common Man" with my eyes closed. The echo had at least a 3-4 second lag so it was like playing call and answer with someone else. It was so cool, I was almost giggling into my horn. When I stopped there was a fairly substantial applause. I turned around and there were 2 busloads of Japanese tourists standing with my wife and kids and a Park Ranger. One of the most joyous moments of my life. If it weren't for those tourists, the Park Ranger would have made me stop. They told me afterwards that I wasn't in trouble but could have been because it's illegal without permit. To this day, still one of my favorite songs of any genre.
Doug: Copland takes full advantage of the power of the instruments. ELP (& Yamaha): hold our beers. Was looking fwd to your mind snapping during the build-up at the end of the middle section. Was not disappointed! :D "Fun, but it works": yeah, that's what happens when you're a musical genius, Doug!
I've played guitar for nearly 55 years- mostly country, blues and rock. For the last few years have been learning to play the drums- as in an acoustic drum kit. This has blown my musical tastes wide open, which has introduced me to jazz/blues fusion, gospel, rock and prog and in fact any music with interesting drumming. I knew about Carl Palmer when he was with Arthur Brown then Atomic Rooster but never appreciated his art as much as I do now. Just saying. Love all your reactions what ever genre- so insightive and interesting.
This one of the best reviews you did.. It was like hanging in your listening room comparing these two pieces. I can tell you enjoyed this exposition. This felt so sincere. I know nothing about reading music other than what Im learning from you. I too was thinking Tarkus to play after. My particular favorite version is on the Welcome back my Friends to the Show That Never Ends. The last half is totally insane. The improvisations were at the top of their game then. I approached this backwards, when I was younger in the 70s. I heard the ELP version first. Then took it to a neighbor friend that had tons of vinyl classical and other old goodies like tapes of old-time radio shows, from before TV. He let me listen to the Aaron Copeland version. We did the same for Pictures at an exhibition. ELP is how I got into classical, then jazz, punk, New Wave, Industrial, electronic house, ambient, experimental etc... Its an always changing hrizon. People ask me what instrument I play since I listen to much. I say I do not play one, Im the audience. Someone has to be the audience, pay at the door to keep them coming back, cheer them on, and mingle with tons of cool people all doing the same goofing off. From Classical to a mosh pit, its all good! And it stemmed from ELP.
Had my daughter listen to this when she was 6 years. She stopped and intently listened to the whole piece. Picked up her violin and then played it. She is now a orchestra conductor. All from prog rock 😊😊
That's beautiful.
Beautiful and Priceless
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I needed the serotonin dose from reading this today !
then after dinner she went out and rebuilt the transmission in your car...
Way back when I in college, I attended a lecture by Aaron Copland. When he was asked how he felt about ELP performing his music, he replied, "Well, I prefer my version." After a short pause, he continued, "But I was greatly consoled when the royalty checks came in." A true musician
Brilliant
Keith had hand and wrist surgery shortly after this and just before his suicide. A terrible waste of talent. He was the greatest keyboard artist of his time❤.
Carl Palmer an all time great drummer with a world class bassist playing with the greatest keyboard player of his generation,.
Don't forget ELP had also done his Hoedown before Fanfare - from the 1972 from the Trilogy album.
It would be cool to do this with Pictures at an Exhibition: first the original piano, then the orchestral, and finally ELP’s.
Yes, indeed it would. Further, a look as to how the US composer Samuel Barber's great piece The Adagio for Strings (1936), was adapted by him for eight part choir as his Agnus Dei in 1967. It is one of the most moving of choral works, especially when sung a cappella.
I have the first section of the original Piano version of Pictures. I shall have to listen to the full version. I have heard the full orchestral version though.
Was just about to suggest that... good job I checked.
Because of ELP's PaaE, I bought the solo piano and both Ravel and Stokowski orchestrations. I would like to see this also. If we are talking Copland how about a compare and contrast with Hoedown from Rodeo?
My music teacher in high school (I’m in the UK) did exactly this over a term when we were 14 (1977). It was awesome
The part about this that most people miss is what Greg and Carl are doing. They put on an absolute clinic on how a rhythm section should work together. Think about what both were capable of on their instruments, yet there they are, holding it down with such precision and taste, letting Keith fly where he will.
Totally agree. I started playing drums 45 years ago because of this track. The rhythm section is so dense..there's always something new to listen to each time...and its about both Carl AND Greg each input so much to this behind the flambuoyant Keith.
I agree. Doug was to preoccupied with Copeland and similarities with the original, to comment on the X’lnt drumming and bass. The rhythm section is really good
“It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing.” Just outstanding swing.
That video cut the fade out. The bass riff continues after that last chord and fades over the next ten seconds or so. An amazing piece by Copland and an amazing interpretation by ELP. I am a long term fan of both.
Yes. The album version continues for a bit less a minute and fades as you say. Also has a timpani at the start before the keys come in.
czcams.com/video/ZDLYdqmZqkY/video.html
Maybe too cold to continue. Rsrsrsrs
Thank you! I never liked that video specifically because they left out the opening.@@KevinHallSurfing
Yes, I was just going to state that.😁
In the late 70s my friend Ron and I were hitchhiking from LI to New Paltz NY to rock climb.
We were picked up by Aaron's partner and ended up stopping at Aaron's house.
He played the piano for us for about an hour.
He was a musical genius.
We really did not know who he was until we got back home and researched him.
Unreal experience !!
I attended Ottawa University, just down the road from KU. In 1976, we had Aaron Copeland visit our campus and conduct the Kansas City Symphony for a concert that opened with the Fanfare. I consider myself very fortunate to have experienced this.
Lucky indeed! I'm totally jealous.
Wow! I am a big fan of Coplamds Applachian spring
Yeah, good on ya' -- I'm jealous, too!
University of Denver, a few years after your occasion. We had rehearsed the daylights out of his music in anticipation of the visit, and we were warned that Mr Copeland was getting on in years, to be patient with him, if he asked us to repeat something without remembering we'd already done it, we were to go along, etc. etc.
When he arrived, Mr Copeland bounded into the room, and quite possibly had more energy than all of us combined. But the focus he wielded with that energy - that really stood out. And more - I'll never forget him _dancing_ at the flutes in a section of Appalachian Spring, and then having them dance while he played it on the piano. When the flutes went back at it, all of a sudden it was a dance, not just well-rehearsed notes.
AMAZING musicianship growth in the week he was there, for all of us.
I will never forget that, nor him.
ELP playing in Olympic Stadium in Montreal on a cold cold February day outside. As a boy who grew up there, this is unbelievable piece. It is the song of Montreal.
There's some fun antics about getting this piece on the album. ELP's label rightly noted that they would need Copeland's permission to use his music, but wanted to send an abridged tape for Copeland to review, prompting Emerson to insist on sending Aaron the full track.
Copeland then recalls listening to it and being "confused" by hearing his fanfare set over a shuffle drumbeat, but deciding that if ELP were motivated enough to arrange the music that way, he was willing to let them perform it.
If Copeland didn't like it, or felt was abused, he wouldn't have allowed it.
It's interesting. The story I read was that Copeland was sent the abridged version and didn't like it. He said he didn't think they'd really done anything special to the piece. Then Keith sent the full version and Copeland was like "That's more like it!"
This wasn’t the first time they needed such permission. To play a Bartok piece on their first album they had to secure permission from Bartok’s widow.
And Toccata from Ginastera
@@patrickalexander9368 Yes, this is what Greg Lake says in his autobiography, Lucky Man, p. 196.
A couple of additional historical and musical notes regarding ELP's version of Fanfare. Recording engineer John Timperley is the real hero as he - on his own initiative - decided to record the spontaneous jam that was occurring once Greg started the shuffle/boogie bassline. Note - it was all recorded through a single stero mic. ELP subsequently tried to record it properly, but it never had the same inspiration/magic, thus they wound up using the original recording (they did do some overdubs to fill it out). Also, this was Keith's debut of the stunning (and eye-wateringly expensive) GX-1 Yamaha synthesizer (the forefather of much more affordable synthesizers to come) which gave the main theme that glorious, ethereal sound; it was a drastic departure from his established Hammond/Moog/Steinway arsenal of gear. Also, Greg was playing an Alembic 8-string bass with a pick which added its own distinctive percussive sound (when locked in with the drums, more rhythmically prominent). Thank you for nice overview Doug.
Thank you, ThreeFates -- that helps me 'get over' the unsatisfying snare drum sound.
Their random jam is now thought of as a masterpiece. God I am glad I grew up with this kind of music. 70 years young.
You probably know the GX1 was destroyed in an accident. John Paul Jones sold Keith his GX1 (used on In through the out door). You're right they were insanely expensive, 60Gs at the time. I wonder how many are left out there
I am from Montreal and was lucky enough to see ELP perform this live in 77 . It was an epic concert with the full symphony orchestra in the background.
Yes, this was the practice before the concert.
actually it was the warm up for the tour, the concert occured months later, on a much warmer day@@fredklein3829
I got to see them in Cincinnati in 77 (Works 1 with orchestra) and 78 (Works 2). Incredible.
Emerson was a genius, and palmer is still one of the greatest drummers of all time.
And LAKE was the best
@@paulomauriciorpinto2334They all deserved each other.
Absolutely
What about Greg?
@@massimotoccafondi4288 lake was great, but in my opinion at his best with king crimson. He did add a sense of balance and rounded everything out.
As a British follower of your channel,I love both versions of Fanfare for the Common Man, but I was never sure which one I preferred the most. That is until the morning of 9/11 when I watched America go through the trauma of that day, when I watched in horror as the brave New York firefighters unhesitatingly entered those burning towers,I quite unconsciously reached for Aaron Copeland's version, and put it on my CD player. I wanted to pay my respects to all those caught up in that dreadful event, but it was my way of saying America will get through this and rise again.Thank you Aaron Copeland and you Doug for exploring both versions of this wonderful piece of music. p.s. I got to see ELP in my home city of Liverpool in the late 1970s. Cheers from the UK. 🇺🇸🇬🇧
Greg's Alembic Scorpion bass was, as you note, eight strings, four pairs of strings tuned to octaves of each other. I also found it interesting that it was wired in stereo, so he pumped the bass in one channel, and the treble in the other, which not only allows you to hear the bassline clearly, but you can hear every strike of the pick on the strings, as well as that slide up the strings near the end of the piece. Not sure I would have made that choice, but then, I'm no Greg Lake...
and remember this was almost fifty years ago!
Wow - what a genius Greg was!
This song, live, was such an energizing piece, early in the sets, that gave their audiences so much emotion...
I was able to see them perform it in concert several times, unfortunately sans orchestra, but it was still so exciting! I'll never forget during one performance, there was a ton of dry ice fog on the stage and the three guys rose up on a platform to the stage each holding a light saber as the first piercing notes came from the horn synthesizer! It was just so fantastic!
If there was ever a time I actually paid attention in an afternoon class, it would be with Doug teaching it. Fascinating stuff. I enjoyed the intro to the music. Very fun, informal, unique reaction channel. Thanks Doug.
As retired timpanist for philharmonic, I always loved playing this piece. It always created huge dopamine in my brain and I felt like Superman.
My experience spans from listening to great big band drummers as a young boy. Getting a snare drum at age of 10. Joining school band. My brother started on pedal steel guitar and switched to bass so we could form or get into established bands. We found other good musicians our age, I had gotten a drum set for my 12th birthday and learned all the popular teen songs by rote. The guitar players that came and went as young teens were all students of jazz great Dale Bruning. I believe contemporary of Jim Hall. After playing professionally for many years, you see back in the sixties there were plenty of gigs for teen dances and a live band was a must. You were auditioned by dance committee and had to play all the hits. I eventually received acceptance at CU music school and then became a jazzbo. Was drummer for Rare Silk who had nominated jazz record at Grammies. Tired of living on the road i got job as timpanist for philharmonic and was there 17 years. I had lost the hearing in my left ear and tinnitus to add to ending career. At 70 I still listen and continue to learn about newer rock scene. I love to talk about music and my experiences, hey, it’s what us old guys do. Looking forward to conversing. Thx
ELP’s Pictures At An Exhibition is hands down my favorite album of all time.
My fellow choristers and I had the signal privilage of performing under the baton of Aaron Copeland at London's Royal Albert Hall. Among the orchestral and choral works of his, Maestro Copeland conducted us in The Promise of Living. Even to young singers such as we were, it was obvious this man carried music in every nerve and sinew of his being. He was the antithesis of a demonstrative or dramatic conductor. Each move of a finger, each glace in one's direction delivered what he wanted of each of us. I have sung under great conductors, from Karajan to Britten to Matthias to Gardiner, but none radiated rhythm and mood as Aaron Copeland did.
I'm not a musician, but being older, my appreciation for music has grown more complex, listening to individual instruments and parts of songs. The first "prog" band I got into was Rush. I wasn't aware of what the genre really was, but it turned me on to bands like ELP. Thanks for letting me relive some of the music I grew up on in a fresh light 🙂
Listening to ELP gave me a greater appreciation for classical music, especially their rendition of Pictures at an Exhibition, which has since become my all-time favorite classical work. I also enjoy Keith's versions of the Intermezzo to Sibelius' Karelia Suite, Tchaikovsky's Pathetique Symphony No. 6, Third Movement, and Brandenburger, adapted from J.S. Bach, all of which he recorded with The Nice.
I also enjoy Isao Tomita's synthesized renditions of classical works as well, especially Holst's The Planets (my second favorite classical work).
While I can't read music or understand one note or chord from another, I enjoy hearing your insights into how and why a particular composition works successfully, and your explanation about Fanfare just makes me love and appreciate this song that much more. Thank you for all you do for us music lovers.
I had completely forgotten about Tomita's albums. I know a have a couple in my collection somewhere....
I vaguely remember that Gustav Holst's daughter/Holst's Estate was unhappy with Isao Tomita's version of "The Planets Suite". Ms. Holst sued Tomita (or maybe his recording company) and all the records were removed from the market. But somebody out there may have an LP/cassette/8 - track cartridge that got out before the embargo.
Thank you. I'd totally forgotten about Isao Tomita. Time to do some listening.
I have a story about this piece of music. The BBC used Fanfare for the Common Man to introduce all the televised programs of the Apollo missions in the sixties and seventies. I was 8 or 9 when I first heard it and didn't know what it was called. I wrote to the BBC asking what it was called and where I could get a copy. They wrote back telling me the name but said the the music was licensed and they did not know of any recordings that I could purchase.
When ELP released their version I went straight out and bought it. I love their version and forgot how the original sounded until tonight some 50 years later.
Thankyou for bringing back the memory of watching those Apollo missions on TV with my mum and dad.
This piece makes me weep every. single. time. The simplicity, the clarity and Copeland's ability to give musical voice to what one can only call the sound of the American Spirit. Absolutely AMAZING piece, and I can't say enough good things about ELP's version.
There another video out there where Keith was using another composers work and asked for permission and the composer said no, and Keith got on a plane and flew out to meet him and explain his case about who he is as an artist and the composer gave permission. I’m appreciative that these artists went to such lengths to have us learn these types of things.
Iirc, it was Toccata (Alberto Ginastera) from Brain Salad Surgery.
@@timothypachonka8642Yep - the way I heard it Emerson was being blocked from speaking directly to Ginastera by phone, so he got on a plane and went to visit him face-to-face.
I am always amazed how much Ginastera's original version sounded to ELP's version - different instrumentation and arrangement for sure but Ginastera's version was surprisingly advanced in its original form.
@@timothypachonka8642where do they talk about this
Copland's Hoe Down is an American classic. Appalachian Spring makes you feel like a walk in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Gorgeous!
Appalachian Spring is my personal favourite of Copland.
I was fortunate to grow up with the Nice, Atomic Rooster and King Crimson, and then the incredible ELP experience! I was introduced to so many wonderful classical pieces by Keith Emersons adaptations, especially Sibelius and Copeland. Exquisite timeless music. Breathtaking ELP live version in Montreal. Thank you for the great episode
Which Sibelius did Keith Emerson adapt? I love their version of Hoedown
Intermezzo from the Karelia Suite. Some of the live versions are fantastic!@@danmarx5456
This is the track that turned me into a composer and producer…never heard a synthesiser growl like that…only Keith could do that. Brilliant Doug. Love The channel! Best from Australia.
The Gewandhaus Orchestra. Outstanding in their field.
Copland is an American Treasure. To me his music is what America at its finest sounds like. This piece, Hoedown, Appalachian Spring, Our Town...just spectacular. And ELP honors the original and makes it their own in an amazing way
Thanks Doug. Well done.
i see what you did there.....outstanding in their field....lol
@@bigmanlars40 except that they are "lip-syncing" - notice the lack of microphones! And were it to be played in the open like that, the sound would dissipate into the ether
Doug, that was outstanding. I have listened to ELP for 50 years. They introduced me to classical music. The background you gave on this was fascinating. I don’t read music but your enthusiasm is engaging.
Same here. I don't know an f sharp from a b minor, but strangely I feel edified just listening to Doug talk about it.
Been listening to this for almost 50 years and it still gives me goosebumps to this day. I think I like lit.
I think that's your best show that I've heard from you, Doug. The background to the composition was fascinating, the German rendition is achingly beautiful, the ELP version was just So Much Fun, and your heartfelt soliloquy at the end was a perfect topping. Thank you, sir.
Absolutely agree. Until now, I had only ever heard the ELP version, being a young adult when it first came to being. I am equally impressed by the original version as well.
As much as I love prog rock, the German rendition at the beginning just tugs at the heart strings. There’s a haunting beauty to how they performed that, it’s really chilling in an inspiring way. The brass has such a rich sound.
One of the true highlights of my life was once sitting on the Capitol Lawn ( 1981? ) watching Aaron Copland conduct the National Symphony Orchestra in a performance of his " Fanfare for the Common Man." Incredible!
One of my favourite songs from ELP. I have it as the ring tone on my phone. Freaks out most people. A shame that very few recognize it.
First time I heard this was my high school graduation from Omaha Northwest in 1977. It brought tears to my eyes then, and still does every time I hear it. Thank you so much for the back story.
Worth noting that Copland used this material again in his Third Symphony. And it is masterful.
Emerson's improvisations are so incredibly melodic
I agree. They’re more than just improvisations.
Comprehensive and thoughtful reviews such as this prove that Doug Helvering is the best music reactor on CZcams. Bravo maestro!
I had the opportunity to see Aaron Copland conduct the Miami University (OH) Orchestra while I was there as an undergraduate in 1976. The concert ended with Mr. Copland conducting the brass and percussion sections in "Fanfare for the Common Man" for an outdoor finale. Fabulous!
Thank you Doug for doing this)) The German version is really excellent)) I was lucky enough to see ELP's Works tour in 1977 with the orchestra. Piano Concerto, Pirates, Fanfare was magical. Hearing Keith's Concerto with the orchestra was very moving for me (as a trained classical pianist myself). I have always loved ELP's interpretation.
BTW, Keith named one of his sons Aaron, in homage to Mr. Copeland.
I saw them on that tour but after the orchestra had been dismissed. Still, clearly, just the three of them were exceptional. Personally, I prefer ELP without the orchestration. But, I seem to recall reading, or hearing, Keith say in an interview with the orchestra he was hearing his music played the way he had always wanted to hear it. I would NEVER try to argue music with Keith so if that's what he wanted I'm glad he had the experience, even though it was unfortunately brief.
Proves what a genius Keith was, and how perfect Carl and Greg were as his foils/counterpoints, perfection indeed and well worth your talents! 🎉
Keith Emerson, a musical genius. "Takes one to know one" applies here with Aaron Copeland in mind. I was unaware of the 43' connection and just how it imparts this symbolic "pendulum starting to swing to victory"(WWII Europe and the Pacific) value, to the composition. The common man is granted a worthy majesty. A truly appropriate fanfare indeed. The absent massed audience of the stadium, rises to it's feet with tumultuous applause. A deep insight, thanks Doug.
I'm a big fan of both aaron copland and ELP. Thank you both for these musical gifts.
Thank you, Doug! Presentations like this are why you are the best. You bring your vast knowledge of music, combine it with genuine deep study of the background, show your deep reverence for music, and all the while have obvious joy and fun with all of it. Learning more about the history (hooray for my town, Cincinnati, and our fantastic Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra!), and seeing Aaron Copeland's score was wonderful, and the presentation of the original piece gave me chills and brought a tear to my eyes. I love your love and respect for Keith Emerson, and it's always fun when you do something he's involved in, because your excitement at the prospect of listening to him shines through every frame of the video.
I got the video on VHS and it plays until the end of the album version. The YT version is from that time when videos were time limited. It's frustrating, it gives such a bad ending to that marvelous piece! It's one of my favorites of ELP. Thanks, Doug, for exploring it so brilliantly.
Wonderful work again Doug. I played this piece and others with Keith Emerson once, what a night that was...!
While in Montreal, during their 1977 tour of America, the band was rehearsing in the basement of the Olympic stadium, the only space available sufficiently large to accommodate themselves and the orchestra. During a coffee break, Lake took the lift upstairs, and was struck by the spectacle of the empty stadium under a carpet of snow, and was inspired to hold a jam session in the unique environment. They organized for their equipment to be set up early the following morning, and a video recordist to document the proceedings. Despite the extreme cold, the trio, dressed in their warmest gear, completed a version of Fanfare in four separate "takes", filming each member individually, then one of the trio
I have read this account, but I'm pretty sure it's not quite accurate. Rehearsals in Montreal took place before the 1977-78 Works tour, not during the tour. As you can see, it is winter in the video, and according to the ELP Archive, the first concert of the tour was May 24 in Louisville. The only performance at Montreal Olympic Stadium was on August 26. This was the last time they used the orchestra on the tour, per ELP Archive.
An excellent source on the ELP video is Greg's autobiography, Lucky Man, starting on page 195 and going to page 205,
In the 1980's and Early 90's the ELP version was the theme music for the Wide World of Sports tv show in Australia. Great piece of music. 👍
Should be the opening piece for any sporting event
@j.d.8075 no problem with that.👍
In the U S too.
ELP introduced me to Copland. Who rapidly became, and remains, my favourite classical composer. Fantastic band. And fantastic composer. I know it is not regarded as one of his best pieces, but the "Billy the Kid" suite is perhaps my favourite of all, along with this piece. And really enjoyed Doug's introduction!
I was very pleased to be able to meet Keith and Greg backstage in 2010 (check my avatar - that's me in the middle).
IIRC, the sound for that clip was recorded in the studio. I'd be a little surprised if the Moog would hold it's tuning correctly in such cold conditions; the drums might have had similar problems as well.
That venue was used for the 1993 live album "Works Live", although the recording was made in August of 1977. Being summer, there wasn't any snow then.
Keith was infamous for making the fans think he was doing something that he wasn't really doing. A classic example is wedging the keys with a dagger, but making people think that the keyboard screamed because he stabbed it.
Thanks for shedding light on the background material.
I haven't listened to the original for several years and this was a beautiful rendition. Full confession: I thought it was an ELP original when I first heard it as a kid. Good choice for this beautiful Friday. Thanks Doug
The next step would be ELP's version of Ginastera's Toccata--which the composer thought was uncanny, that it captured something that he was going for but didn't quite achieve in the original version for orchestra.
That was the coolest anecdote in the Brain Salad Surgery interview! Emerson said they played their version of Toccata for a stunned Ginastera, who said simply "Diabolic!" And the band were initially worried that the composer hated it. But it was a good "diabolic" after all, and now many more people know of Ginastera because of ELP.
Thank you for playing Copeland's version first. I enjoy seeing progression from one piece to another. My music teacher played Copeland a lot in school
The ELP version shown, took place in the roofless Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and was a warmup for their main show. The roof was open to the very cold outdoors because it had been damaged in a storm.
Yes. I too, have that coat envy.
ELP's recording was my first exposure to Fanfare for the Common Man. ❤
I'm sure any dairy cows in the pasture appreciated being serenaded. I didn't know the background story to that piece which I find fascinating. It is truly inspirational, powerful and generates goose flesh. I played in brass ensemble while in college and always love hearing anything done by brass instruments. Thank you, Doug.
For you youngins out there this version of ELP was played at the winter olympics many times expressing elements of victory and defeat! awesome
The genius that is Emerson, Lake and Palmer !!
I know nobody cares about this. But coming across this video sparked a memory I have about this piece that I look back fondly upon.
Way before the NBA started having their laser filled over the top player introductions. My friend and I put together a choreographed opening for our high school basketball team when they took the floor to warm up. He had gotten the WORKS album in the summer of 78 and we both loved Fanfare. So we started planning how to use it for the pregame.
We had the lights go off and as the first boom comes in, a spotlight shines from one corner of the gym to the other where the team would enter. When the horns kicked in the cheerleaders came out rolling out an orange carpet the center of the court. Then as the music reached the big crescendo, our most athletic player slammed the ball in perfect timing. Then the lights came on as the rest of the team ran out on the floor and warmed up to the rest of Fanfare. At the time it was hard for two 17 year old kids to convince a reluctant coach and school administrators what we were up to was going to be great. And it was.
I saw a video on CZcams once of an orchestra playing the original piece and then going into ELP arrangement. They really came to life when they started playing the ELP arrangement.
czcams.com/video/duBcIjzbfv8/video.html
This is one of the most moving pieces of all time. Thank you for bring this to my attention again.
An amazing piece. Reminds me of what angels might sound like announcing the return of Christ. It also put me in mind of a lone cowboy, riding up on a ride at as dawn breaks, as he pauses to look at an untouched America. You can feel the drums and horns in your bones, a vast but contained power. It's majestic.
I saw them do this live at a concert many years ago. The filled the coliseum, it was LOUD
Being 14 and having no exposure to classical music in the SW part of the US, Emerson Lake and Palmer introduced me to music I would have never been exposed to other than in cartoons. Have seen ELP many times since, the last time it was at the Brady theatre in Tulsa, OK. A 250 seat former movie theater. Probably the best concert I have ever seen.
I really love how you explain the historical context to set up the analysis of the music itself and the further historical contest of how ELP adapted Copland's piece. You are an ornament to our stage.
Not quite the actual album ending, but you’ll see what they do when you listen to the album. Thanks for doing this one! 🍻
Good job here, Doug; perhaps the best I've seen you do. I appreciated the historical backdrop of the piece; the two versions that you played. I don't always appreciate your harmonic analysis, especially when it's not an important part of the piece, but in this case it's a valuable addition. Even seeing the original score was fascinating to me; seeing how Copland organized and penned the score. Thank You.
I vividly remember hearing Copeland 's piece for the first time over the radio when I was in college. Afterward, I frantically asked everyone present what the piece was. It was a few years later, that I finally found my answer. To this day, it moves me as few other pieces do. Its simplicity is what makes it so amazing.
In 1976, I attended an event where FFTCM was played. Since I had never heard it before, I was awestruck. I had to find out what that piece was and who in the heck wrote it. Long story short, within a few months I had purchased every Aaron Copland album I could find. Most of the pieces were recorded with him actually conducting the orchestra. I had a new hero! Appalachian Spring was my favorite, but I burned myself out on it. There is a piece that is on one of those albums which I just cannot get away from. Dance Panels has to be one of the most underrated classical pieces ever composed. I absolutely love it. It seems to me that Mr. Copland, with the strings and woodwinds, has mimicked a chorus of wild birds. It's such a somber piece. Most mornings, I get up and sit while sipping a cup of coffee and listening to this. Back to Fanfare: Although I used to listen to ELP quite a bit, I had never heard their version of Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man. And I wouldn't have listened to it if you hadn't "explored" it. Thank you for doing that. I really enjoyed it.
The 1977 Tour had an orchestra touring with them but not for every show: Denver did not get the full staged version, sadly. But due to the costs imposed by Tour arrangements for the Orchs (Tolkien joke?), EL&P extended that tour into 1978 and came to Ft Collins, where they played another fantastic show. Those were my 2nd & 3rd (and last 😢) EL&P shows, all in Colorado; "Love Beach" was like a Divorce announcement. 🎉😮🎉
As a trumpet player, I love this piece, and I use it as a warm up sometimes. I like how you gave backstory and showed off the score. Please do more like this!
I haven't heard the ELP version of this since sometime in the '80s... thanks for reminding me of how amazing it is.
As a former trumpet player, that part is not hard to play. It would be fun. What is challenging is playing loud upper register staccato notes that come out of nowhere without a run up. That's exposure... and exciting.
It was through ELP that I became acquainted with a number of great pieces of classical music, like this one, in their repertoire.
Would love to see you listen to their version of Copeland’s Rodeo.
Agreed !!!
Love ‘Rodeo’ !!!
Emerson was a huge Copland fan !!!
This was excellent. I have loved the original piece for years, and when ELP’s version came out, I loved it too. Your explanation allowed me to enjoy both versions even more. Thank you!
I love this. I was a percussionist back in the sixties and early seventies. I love playing the tympani. 😮And Doug, I loved Tarkus. I bought the album before I ever heard the band’s music. It was the cover art that got me. After listening I was an ELP aficionado from then on.
Love this. I especially like when you jam on the rain-stick. Emerson, Lake, Palmer & Helvering!
HELP perhaps?
Ha ha! Brilliant! I didn’t even consider that!
Thank you, Doug, for enjoying ELP's version. I've loved it since the 1970's.
I was one of the stage crew for this recording at Montreal's Olympic Stadium. Just a young lad at the time, but I had a blast with the boys and the techs.
Thank you SO MUCH, Doug for introducing me to the ORIGINAL Aaron Copeland version of this piece that I have only known as the ELP version since my youth. .
BOTH versions are outstanding in their own ways. .
LOVE THEM and they wil now forever be part of my musical library. . (Although, at my age "forever" isn't a long time 😉)
Thanks from Australia. . .
I’m lucky my mother played me the original. It’s always been a favourite. Heard ELP afterwards different but the same.
This was amazing to hear live during the 1977 concert!
There's no need to rush to the music; listening to you talk is why I'm here!
Strength and pride. One of my favorite pieces of music. I always think of Atlas Shrugged when I hear this.
For what it’s worth, I had heard somewhere that Aaron Copland heard the ELP version and pronounced it “formidable”.
I'm so tickled that you did both compositions back to back. I've been in awe of these for years. Great class and delightful reaction!
Thanks Doug
I'm so happy (and lucky) to have seen ELP play this on 92.
Me too. RAH and Bristol.
What a wonderfully explicative segment about one of my alltime favorites!
KUDOS!!!
A Master Class. Big thank you to Doug. Somehow this reminds me of their version of Nutrocker... the Tchaikovsky pop rock tune....but with a classical twist. ELP beat centric interpretation makes it an outstanding modern interpretation, - innovative excellence. The side benefit of ELP bringing classical compositions to the masses of rock enthusiasts is a better appreciation of classical. What they did with Mussorsky Pictures was even more impressive - the Sage and Gates especially.
Love Copeland (almost as much as Stravinsky). Had the joy of playing this as a brass choir exercise. One of the keys in performing this piece always seems to be managing the tempo to the room. The echo/decay dictates the tempo, much like listening to a pipe organ: the hall is an integral part of the instrument. The ELP version is fun and exciting! The trumpet fanfare was truly brass. This is the tour where they had an orchestra with them for many of the shows. To have been a fly on the wall when they cut this live. One key thing about ELP is their communication when playing live (watch Keith and Carl in the live filming of "Pictures;" it is magical.)
The patchboard behind the keyboard, that was quite literally the way early synthesizers worked. The board had various waveform generators, filters, envelopes, etc. You ran a cord from this to that, another cord from here to there, and wrote down the "patch", how you set it all up in a notebook. And to this day we still call the various sounds we produce with synthesizers "patches", even though we aren't running cords all over. Now all of my patches are in two little boxes and I use a wind synth instead of a keyboard. The technology is amazing!
I love Aaron Copeland. I listen to his music often. I listen to a lot of classical music on NPR on my local (Denver) classical station. I also listen to a lot of Led Zeppelin (whom I also consider to be classical musicians from another era). I also enjoy Debussy, Eric Satie, and Stravinsky.
I've been familiar with ELP's version since it first became available, but this was my first time listening to the original version. Deeply deeply moving!
Thanks for sharing. I've heard parts of that piece several times but never took the time to appreciate it. It is beautiful. The Gewandhausorchester version brought a tear to my eye.
Stunning, stunning piece by ELP,masterpiece !
Played the Fanfare in high school in 1961 for the dedication of one of our small town's new churches. We were of a caliber which could produce the sound; three of the musicians eventually earned Ph.D.'s for performance, and had major academic and performance careers; I, as the tuba player, also had a good stint in performance and recordings in New York City until the draft caught up with me in 1969.
The very first rock concert given at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal, built for the 1976 games, but unfortunately not finished in time, since there was not yet the retractable roof.
Imagine playing outdoors by -20 Celsius (-4 Fahrenheit), with 18 inches of snow on the ground and all that, in front of empty seats.
Part of an interview with Greg Lake:
LAKE: I remember we were rehearsing in a basement beneath the Olympic stadium. It was the only place large enough to fit the whole orchestra in to rehearse. A phone call came in and I had to go up and take it, and everyone took a coffee break. So during that break I took the elevator up to the ground floor, which actually took me to the Olympic stadium. And I went up to the stadium and I was looking at this absolutely mind-blowing site, covered in virgin snow, with the Olympic rings lit up in neon lights at both ends. It was an eerie sight, begging for something to happen, and I thought, ‘Video.’ We got the crew to move the gear up to the stadium the next day to start recording. Of course, what we didn’t plan was for it to be way below zero. My fingers would literally slip through the strings. So we had to record it in fairly short bursts, but it was a lovely film in the end.
About 33 or so years ago when I was still playing trumpet (I had to stop because of an accident while I was playing a Jazz gig), my wife and I took our 2 kids to the Grand Canyon and camped for 3 days. On the third day, they all wanted to go shopping at the gift shop so I took the opportunity to grab my trumpet and head out to the farthest point on Powell Point. It was a cold day and there was nobody around. I played through "Fanfare For The Common Man" with my eyes closed. The echo had at least a 3-4 second lag so it was like playing call and answer with someone else. It was so cool, I was almost giggling into my horn. When I stopped there was a fairly substantial applause. I turned around and there were 2 busloads of Japanese tourists standing with my wife and kids and a Park Ranger. One of the most joyous moments of my life. If it weren't for those tourists, the Park Ranger would have made me stop. They told me afterwards that I wasn't in trouble but could have been because it's illegal without permit. To this day, still one of my favorite songs of any genre.
Doug: Copland takes full advantage of the power of the instruments.
ELP (& Yamaha): hold our beers.
Was looking fwd to your mind snapping during the build-up at the end of the middle section.
Was not disappointed! :D
"Fun, but it works": yeah, that's what happens when you're a musical genius, Doug!
I've played guitar for nearly 55 years- mostly country, blues and rock. For the last few years have been learning to play the drums- as in an acoustic drum kit. This has blown my musical tastes wide open, which has introduced me to jazz/blues fusion, gospel, rock and prog and in fact any music with interesting drumming. I knew about Carl Palmer when he was with Arthur Brown then Atomic Rooster but never appreciated his art as much as I do now. Just saying. Love all your reactions what ever genre- so insightive and interesting.
This one of the best reviews you did.. It was like hanging in your listening room comparing these two pieces. I can tell you enjoyed this exposition. This felt so sincere. I know nothing about reading music other than what Im learning from you.
I too was thinking Tarkus to play after. My particular favorite version is on the Welcome back my Friends to the Show That Never Ends. The last half is totally insane. The improvisations were at the top of their game then.
I approached this backwards, when I was younger in the 70s. I heard the ELP version first. Then took it to a neighbor friend that had tons of vinyl classical and other old goodies like tapes of old-time radio shows, from before TV. He let me listen to the Aaron Copeland version. We did the same for Pictures at an exhibition. ELP is how I got into classical, then jazz, punk, New Wave, Industrial, electronic house, ambient, experimental etc... Its an always changing hrizon. People ask me what instrument I play since I listen to much. I say I do not play one, Im the audience. Someone has to be the audience, pay at the door to keep them coming back, cheer them on, and mingle with tons of cool people all doing the same goofing off. From Classical to a mosh pit, its all good! And it stemmed from ELP.