08-28: CBGB : Suicide 1978 | Bad Brains 1982 | Damage 1986 | Vibrators 2000 - Mussorgsky / Golovanov : Pictures at an Exhibition 1952 | Night On Bald Mountain 1948 - Martinů Symphonies / Neumann

Thoroughly chronological. Go here for tagged image.




430 – St. Augustine of Hippo (North African bishop, theologian, writer & philosopher)
1572 – Claude Goudimel (French composer, music editor, music publisher & music theorist)
1647 – Johann Dilliger (German church musician & composer)
1767 – Johann Schobert (German composer & harpsichordist)
1864 – Anton Schindler (German violinist & early Beethoven biographer)
1885 – Julius Hopp (Austrian composer)
1903 – August Labitzky (Czech composer & conductor)
1905 – Ioannis Apostolou (Greek operatic tenor)
1914 – Anatoly Lyadov (Russian composer, teacher, conductor & pianist)
1958 – Nikolai Golovanov (Russian conductor, composer & pianist)
1959 – Bohuslav Martinů (Czech composer, violinist & teacher)
1960 – Anton Lajovic (Slovenian composer)
1964 – Aristide Baracchi (Italian operatic baritone)
1972 – René Leibowitz (Polish-born French composer, conductor, music theorist & teacher)
1982 – Nini de Boël [Leonie Van Nuland] (Belgian actress & soprano in operettas & musical revues)
1984 – Ahti Sonninen (Finnish composer & teacher)
1994 – Pieter de Cort (Belgian rock guitarist, Betty Goes Green)
2007 – Hilly Kristal (American club owner & musician, CBGB)
2010 – William P. Foster (American marching band pioneer, Florida A&M University 'Marching 100')


St. Augustine, a musician? Well, he's the patron saint of brewers, among other things. That alone earns him some serious cred in the music racket. But indeed he was well acquainted with the mathematical science of music (harmonics in the Pythagorean tradition - the study of the ratios and proportions of musical intervals, as it would later form part of the medieval quadrivium), and is said to have composed music for the early Church, although who knows if any traces of it survive, given that it would have been passed down through oral tradition. It would be centuries later before even the most rudimentary forms of musical notation would come into common usage. (The great leap forward was in the invention of staff notation about 1000 years ago, but in its earliest forms even it is virtually unrecognizable as the notational system we use today.) Nevertheless, just marvel at that magnificent image of Saint Augie. Regardless of your opinions on this religion or that religion, or religion in general, you can't deny that it's inspired some amazing iconography... and of course, some amazing music. Sure is making my blog look like a million bucks today!

Truth be told, Augustine did make a significant contribution to the subject of liturgical music in his writings, one that has been well preserved. De musica, among his earlier and lesser-known treatises, describes what would come to be called the responsorial style of chanting and singing - in which the congregation keeps answering the celebrant repeatedly. Augustine also had some important theoretical ideas about rhythm and meter, and expanded on the variety of poetical feet that had been established in Classical antiquity. This became an extremely important model for later composers when the practice of polyphonic composition began to grow in the 2nd millennium, causing the temporal organization of multiple parts to become more crucial. Augustine also warned against music that would arouse the passions too much and distract its hearers from the contemplation of the divine. Well, that makes sense, coming from the patron saint of brewers. Arousing the passions is beer's job.

We're not precisely sure which day Claude Goudimel died. It was sometime between the 28th and the 31st of August, 1572. Goudimel was murdered in the St. Bartholemew's Day Massacre, a purging of Huguenots (French Calvinists) which lasted longer than a day, several weeks actually, beginning with targeted assassinations by Catherine de' Medici and the monarchy in Paris on August 23rd, and continuing with Catholic mob violence that eventually spread to other urban centers and the French countryside through September. Goudimel, being a fairly prominent figure in the Huguenot cause, perished quite early in the bloodbath. Esimates of the death toll range between 5000 and 30,000. A contemporary depiction of the events of August 24th:



Although Dubois did not witness the massacre, his depiction is consistent with contemporary accounts. Admiral Coligny's body is hanging out of a window at the rear to the right. To the left rear, Catherine de' Medici is shown emerging from the Louvre to inspect a heap of bodies.

The death of Johann Schobert was a rather more prosaic, and frankly embarrassing one. Like Goudimel, he died in Paris, and like Goudimel, he was not the only one to perish in the event. Schobert died along with his wife, one of their children, their maidservant, and four of their best friends who they were having over for dinner, after insisting to those gathered that certain highly poisonous mushrooms were quite edible and harmless. Still, Schobert redeems himself in that he influenced the very young Mozart, who "borrowed" some movements from Schobert's piano sonatas to use in some of his earliest piano concertos.

I'm not 100% certain which member of Belgian band Betty Goes Green is Pieter de Cort, but I'm pretty sure it's the guy the second from the right, in the beige jacket. I've seen other pics of the band in which only four members are shown, and he's the only one not in them. Poor guy died of cancer at the age of 25.


My list originally contained the name of Christian Anders, Austrian Schlager singer, one-time teen idol, composer, and actor. It said he died in 1991. I'm not sure why. He's still very much alive, and just came out with a new album this year. Check out his blog to reassure yourself. Here he was in his teen idol days:


Christian Anders: Love Dreamer (1976)
Und so, entschuldige mich ich bei allen Sie Mädchen heraus dort, deren Schlüpfer in der Erwartung naß ist. Kein Christian Anders für Sie heute! Hahahahahaha....


08-27: Terrorizer : World Downfall 1989 - Josquin L'homme armé Masses : Tallis Scholars - Ella Fitzgerald Whisper Not 1967 - Beethoven Choral Fantasy : Serkin / Bernstein 1962

To represent Joan Cererols, I used the Basilica of Montserrat, his place of burial. Tagged image here.



1521 – Josquin des Prez (Franco-Flemish composer)
1680 – Joan Cererols (Spanish composer & Benedictine monk)
1746 – Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer (German composer & keyboardist)
1841 – Ignaz von Seyfried (Austrian conductor & composer, pupil of Mozart, friend of Beethoven)
1846 – Frantiszek Ścigalski (Polish composer, violinist & conductor)
1846 – Gottfried Wilhelm Fink (German theologian, poet, composer, writer & lecturer on music & music editor)
1855 – Francisco Eduardo da Costa (Portuguese pianist & composer)
1865 – Józef Nowakowski (Polish composer, pianist & teacher, friend of Chopin)
1867 – Karol Kątski (Polish violinist & composer)
1868 – Franz Xaver Schnyder von Wartensee (Swiss composer, pianist, conductor & writer on music)
1883 – August Friedrich Pott (German violinist & composer)
1887 – Wilhelm Volkmar (German organist & composer)
1922 – Carl Fuchs (German cellist, composer, teacher & writer on music)
1948 – Oscar Lorenzo Fernández (Brazilian composer, violinist, pianist, cellist & academician)
1948 – Oley Speaks (American songwriter & baritone singer)
1953 – Nicolai Berezowsky (Russian-born American violinist, composer & conductor)
1958 – Nina Garelli (Italian operatic soprano)
1962 – Carlos Lavín (Chilean composer & musicologist)
1964 – Aleksey Zhivotov (Russian composer)
1965 – Otto Reinhold (German composer)
1967 – Brian Epstein (English music entrepreneur & manager of The Beatles)
1976 – Mukesh (Indian Bollywood playback singer)
1979 – Bolesław Szabelski (Polish composer)
1981 – Joan Edwards (American jazz singer & philanthropist)
1990 – Stevie Ray Vaughan (American blues guitarist & singer)
1991 – Vince Taylor (English rock singer & songwriter, The Playboys, "Brand New Cadillac")
1994 – El Polaco [Roberto Goyeneche] (Argentine tango singer)
1994 – Thomas Hayward (American operatic tenor & teacher)
1995 – Marty Paich (American jazz arranger, pianist, composer & conductor)
1997 – Sotiria Bellou (Greek rebetiko singer)
2005 – Giorgos Mouzakis (Greek songwriter, trumpeter & composer of light music)
2006 – Jesse Pintado (Mexican-born American metal guitarist, Napalm Death)

On August 27th we remember one of history's greatest composers, Josquin; the greatest Spanish composer of Josquin's century, Victoria (who may have died on the 20th, not the 27th - I opted for the earlier date to remember him, considering how full-up the 27th is - I mean, just LOOK at that list); Beatles manager Brian Epstein; Bollywood playback singer Mukesh; Texas blues great Stevie Ray Vaughan; jazz arranger Marty Paich; grindcore guitar pioneer Jesse Pintado of Napalm Death; and a whole lot of other tuneful stiffs...

Such as Gottfried Wilhelm Fink. Fink was, among many other things, both a poet and a composer. Thus, many of his compositions are Lieder for which he set his own poems to music. I have no idea if they're any good. But, it is kind of interesting, and something you don't see every day in a 19th-century composer. Of course, much earlier, you had your medieval poet-composers: your troubadours, your trouvères, your Minnesänger. But eventually a division of labor between writing of lyrics and music became pretty standard, at least for professional songwriters.

Now, for folk musicians - itinerant minstrels, jongleurs, country blues singers and the like - it's always been a little different. But even up until the mid-20th century, lyrics and music of published songs were usually written by separate persons. Songwriters who did both, like Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, and (sometimes) Frank Loesser and Hoagy Carmichael were definitely exceptions to the rule. And that's for pop songwriting. In the classical world, such exceptions are still almost unheard-of, which is why Fink is quite remarkable. Rotten about his surname. With a name like Fink you don't get very far in the English-speaking world. Although in German, it merely means "finch," which is quite lovely. Seriously, take a look at these guys and tell me they aren't the most delightful creatures you've ever seen:


As you can see, some of them are more colorful than others.

Oscar Lorenzo Fernández was a Brazilian composer of Spanish descent. His nationalistic opera Malazarte (1931–33) is considered the first successful Brazilian opera of this type. Its Portuguese libretto by Graça Aranha was for some reason translated into Italian for its 1941 premiere at the Teatro Municipal in Rio de Janeiro. In 1936, Fernández founded the Conservatório Brasiliero de Música in Rio, which he directed until you-know-what happened.

Nicolai Berezowsky recalled in his memoire Duet with Nicky that as a young chorister in the Imperial Capella in St. Petersburg, the choir sometimes sang for the family of Tsar Nicholas and Rasputin. He says the choirboys would tear pages from their hymnals to make spit-balls which they would aim at Rasputin. After settling in New York, Berezowsky attended Juilliard and played in the 1st Violin section of the New York Philharmonic. He was a protégé of Serge Koussevitzky, who premiered his symphonies to great acclaim. In his lifetime, he was apparently a better-known composer than Aaron Copland.

Do you know who wrote the music to "On the Road to Mandalay," with words by Rudyard Kipling, that Frank Sinatra recorded for his 1958 album Come Fly With Me? - Oley Speaks. - That's nice, but what was the name of the composer? - Oley Speaks. - Okay, fine. You don't want to tell me his name. But could you at least tell me what this guy Oley is saying? - He's not saying anything. He's been dead for 63 years....

08-26: Voivod : Nothingface 1989 ; Angel Rat demos 1990 - Vaughan Williams Symphonies 4 , 5 & 6 ; Tallis Fantasia etc. / Berglund , Silvestri , Gibson

Can't figure out who's who? The tagged image is here, dumbass






1683 – Christoph Schultze (Polish-born German church composer, cantor & music director)
1712 – Sebastian Anton Scherer (German composer & organist)
1813 – Daniel Gottlob Türk (German composer, organist & music theorist)
1849 – Jacques-Féréol Mazas (French composer, conductor, violinist & teacher)
1860 – Friedrich Silcher (German song composer & folksong collector)
1873 – Carl Wilhelm (German choirmaster & composer)
1906 – Eugen Gura (Czech-born German baritone & painter)
1908 – Tony Pastor (American vaudeville impresario)
1950 – Giuseppe De Luca (Italian operatic baritone)
1958 – Ralph Vaughan Williams (English composer, music folklorist, music editor & conductor)
1960 – Mark Hambourg (Russian-born British pianist & writer)
1971 – Francesco Santoliquido (Italian composer)
1976 – Lotte Lehmann (German soprano & writer)
1977 – Heinz Röttger (German composer & conductor)
1978 – Charles Haubiel (American composer & pianist)
1981 – Lee Hays (American folksinger & songwriter, The Weavers)
1988 – Carlos Paião (Portuguese physician & pop singer & songwriter)
1993 – Rockin' Dopsie, Sr. (American Zydeco singer, accordionist & songwriter)
1995 – Ronnie White (American soul singer & songwriter, The Miracles, discovered Stevie Wonder)
2004 – Laura Branigan (American pop singer-songwriter & actress)
2005 – Piggy [Denis D'Amour] (Canadian metal guitarist & violinist, Voivod)

Write-up pending. Downloads are on the other side of the awkward silence.


08-25: Aaliyah "Are You Afraid of Detroit" Dosvec Remix - Naked Eyes "Always Something There To Remind Me" Jellybean Remix - Carlos Seixas : Choral & Organ Works - Stan Kenton Birdland 1955

Pert-near chronological. Tagged image is here.





1742 – Carlos Seixas (Portuguese composer & harpsichordist)
1773 – Franz Nikolaus Novotný (Czech-Austrian organist & composer)
1774 – Niccolò Jommelli (Italian opera composer)
1791 – Pietro Domenico Paradies (Italian composer & harpsichordist)
1818 – Elizabeth Billington [née Weichsel] (British operatic soprano & composer)
1842 – Jérôme-Joseph de Momigny (Belgian composer & music theorist)
1900 – Friedrich Nietzsche (German philosopher, poet, composer & classical philologist)
1939 – Geneviève Vix (French operatic soprano)
1942 – Panayot Pipkov (Bulgarian composer, conductor, violinist, singer, actor & poet)
1971 – Ted Lewis (American jazz singer, bandleader & clarinetist, comedian & entertainer)
1972 – Robert Denzler (Swiss conductor & composer)
1972 – Juan Carlos Paz (Argentine composer, music theorist, pianist & organist)
1979 – Stan Kenton (American jazz bandleader, pianist, composer & arranger)
1989 – Gunnar Johnsen Berg (Danish composer & pianist)
1992 – Esmeralda [Alma Graciela Haro Cabello] (Mexican bolero singer)
1995 – R. B. Hudmon [Hudman] (American soul singer)
1995 – Doug Stegmeyer (American bass guitarist, Billy Joel, Debbie Gibson, Hall & Oates)
1996 – Sylvia Fisher (Australian operatic dramatic soprano)
1999 – Rob Fisher (English synthpop keyboardist & songwriter, Naked Eyes)
2000 – Jack Nitzsche (American arranger, producer, songwriter & soundtrack composer)
2001 – Aaliyah (American R&B singer, actress & model)
2001 – Philippe Léotard (French actor, poet & singer)
2002 – William Warfield (American bass-baritone & actor)

Let's see... we've got Friedrich Nietzsche and Jack Nitzsche... we've got Sylvia Fisher and Rob Fisher... and we've got Carlos Seixas when we just had Raul Seixas four days ago. At whatever point I do this write-up, I'll make sure I'm well-rested and have had my coffee... and yes, it has been 10 years since young, beautiful, talented Aaliyah boarded that fatally overloaded Cessna... this decade has just zipped on by, hasn't it?


08-24: Don Byas & Mary Lou Williams 1953 - Mozart Abduction from the Seraglio Beecham Simoneau 1956 - Antonio Paoli 1909 Verdi - Albert Sammons 1916 Vieuxtemps - Leo Blech 1931 Brahms

Pretty darned close to chronological. Tagged image here.



1712 – Thomas Bullis (Scottish composer & organist)
1724 – Andreas Kneller (German composer & organist)
1804 – Valentin Adamberger [Adamonti] (German operatic tenor)
1817 – Nancy Storace (English operatic soprano)
1829 – Benjamin Jacob (English organist, conductor & composer)
1840 – Joseph Waast Aubert Nonot (French harpsichordist, organist & composer)
1841 – Karl Friedrich Curschmann (German composer & singer)
1932 – Gheorghe Cucu (Romanian composer, conductor & folklorist)
1946 – Antonio Paoli (Puerto Rican operatic tenor & boxer)
1949 – Hermann Devriès (French operatic baritone)
1957 – Albert Sammons (English violinist & composer)
1958 – Leo Blech (German composer & conductor)
1962 – Henry Ley (English organist, composer & teacher)
1964 – Maurice Schoemaker (Belgian composer)
1972 – Don Byas (American jazz tenor saxophonist, settled in France & Holland)
1973 – Sláva Vorlová [Mira Kord] (Czech composer & pianist)
1976 – Michael Head (English composer, pianist, organist & singer)
1978 – Louis Prima (American jazz & pop singer, trumpeter & bandleader)
1979 – Ernst Gruber (Austrian operatic tenor)
1985 – Paul Creston (American composer)
1988 – Kenneth Leighton (English composer & pianist)
1992 – Larrie Londin (American rock & country session & road drummer, Journey, Elvis, et al.)
1999 – Alexandre Lagoya (Egyptian-born Greek-Italian classical guitarist & boxer)
2005 – Kaleth Morales (Colombian vallenato singer, songwriter & guitarist)
2005 – Harold "Hal" Kalin (American pop singer, The Kalin Twins, "When")
2006 – Léopold Simoneau (French operatic lyric tenor)


Write-up pending... but it's going to be a good one... a great one... an exciting one, I can feel it...