It occurs to me that - especially in the twentieth century - mixing comedy with music in the light-entertainment field was not at all unusual. Most comedians / comediennes had their own "Theme songs" and many of them were quite accomplished singers.
But there were also a good number who had instrumental skills to back up their wisecracking.
I wonder if it was dePachmann who gave Victor Borge and Liberace (who both started their careers on the concert stage) the idea of mixing music and humour and making a great deal of money by doing so.
There were many comedians who often "signed off" their act with an instrumental solo. Accomplished pianists included Arthur Askey, Fred Emney, Reg Varney, Lesley Crowther and Bruce Forsyth....I'll reserve judgement on Les Dawson !
Among the violinists were Jack Benny (who had begun his career in a double-act with pianist/composer Zez Confrey) Jimmy Wheeler, Ted Ray and Vic Oliver - a very accomplished musician who was also a composer.
When it came to the more unusual instruments there was George Formby and his ukulele and the trombonist George Chisholm who had an hilarious sense of humour which came out on such shows as The Black & White Minstrels.
Then there were those performers who were able to perform on various instruments - Jimmy Edwards, Roy Castle and Norman Wisdom.
There are others I could mention and, probably, quite a few more that others can think of who I've forgotten. I haven't noticed that many of today's comedians possess great instrumental talents (although Jo Brand is an able organist) and , in fact, although they are more likely to centre their acts on direct references to bodily functions like flatulence than did their predecessors they rarely make me smile.
The interpretation of the word "Fag." could have been worse, Jeffrey...but perhaps they were more innocent times...and vocabulary has moved on....
When I first started, in my youth, to collect orchestral scores one of my older sisters - who was unable to read music - was looking through them and, happening upon the abbreviation "Fag." observed that that must be the indication for the players to take a break in order to light up the Woodbines. I'll leave it to the imagination how she interpreted the abbreviation "Pizz."
In his round-up of humorous references to classical music in the Simpsons, my colleague David Barker observes about "farting (I suspect this is the first time that word has been used on this site!)". I regret to inform him that he sadly overestimates the decorum of the contributors to this website; I am sad enough to have searched it and found many such occasions: Alex Russell in 2003 regarding Stravinsky's Pulcinella: "The LSO trombonist must not be afraid to fart when the occasion demands it."; Gary Higginson in 2010 re Frescobaldi: "One student of mine wrote that he “was potentially a boring old fart”."; John Ireland in Memoirs by Humphrey Searle: "Master Britten, always having something to show in the shop window - if he farts they'll record it."; Dan Morgan on Messiaen: "The fart and shriek of this weird score has seldom emerged with such clarity and impact" and shame on you, Dan, even worse on Shostakovich's The Nose in 2009: " the trombone fart in scene iii for instance - where Kovalev discovers his pecker has gone AWOL."
I could go on, as there are many more but I hesitate to wound further the delicate sensibilities of our readers. It just shows you: perhaps the world of classical music appreciation is not as stuffy as some would have you believe...
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