Who Will Stand the Test of Time?
There will BE NO MUSIC in the future except for generative music. with possible variations on the theme to include interactive music. Music as we know it - created solely by humans interacting and in direct contact (manipulation) with organic/acoustic/electronic instruments will become rare/non-existant like strawberry jam in the movie SOLENT GREEN. Enjoy it now while we can.... |
Brownsfan wrote: "...I don't recall the last time I heard Way down upon the Swanee River on the radio. My guess is that Heinrich Schutz gets more playing time than Steven Foster. There is a reason for that..." Really? You should talk to a Musicologist at an American University. Like it or not, Foster is considered the "Premier American Song Composer" of the 19th Century. Further, "Old Folks At Home" is considered within American Academe the "Premier Example" of 19th Century American Song. Also, if you want to hear Foster on the radio, tune in to the Kentucky Derby on ESPN Radio. Churchill Downs plays "My Old Kentucky Home" immediately before the race. It's worth noting that Foster has been getting state sanctioned play in both FL and KY for some time, as both state legislatures have selected Foster compositions as their Official State Songs. At the same time, comparing a 17th Century German "composer" to a 19th Century American "songwriter" is GOOFY. Please keep in mind that Foster worked without a patron, and on the open market before the protections of modern copyright law. Granted, some of what you say about "Pop" is correct. For example, the biggest author of Victorian England wasn't Dickens; it was Doyle. Today, we read Doyle but "revere" Dickens. Shutze is very likely a "better" composer, but Foster will remain VERY IMPORTANT in the US, again because his songs are,like it or not, the premier historical examples of popular American Music of the 19th Century. |
