In the Hall of the Mountain King

In the Hall of the Mountain King is a piece of orchestral music composed by Edvard Grieg for the sixth scene of Act II in Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt, which premiered in Christiania on February 24, 1876.

It was originally part of Opus 23, but was later extracted as the final piece of Peer Gynt, Suite No. 1, Op. 46. Although a performance of the full piece runs to slightly less than 3 minutes, its easily recognizable theme has helped it attain iconic status in popular culture, where it has been arranged by many artists.

The piece is played as the eponymous Peer Gynt, in a dream-like fantasy, enters "the royal hall of the Old Man of the Dovrë (the Mountain King)." The scene's introduction continues: "There is a great crowd of troll courtiers, gnomes and goblins. The Old Man sits on his throne, with crown and sceptre, surrounded by his children and relatives. Peer Gynt stands before him. There is a tremendous uproar in the hall." The lines sung are the first lines in the scene.

Grieg himself wrote: "For the Hall of the Mountain King I have written something that so reeks of cowpats, ultra-Norwegianism, and 'to-thyself-be-enough-ness' that I can't bear to hear it, though I hope that the irony will make itself felt." [Wikipedia]

In the Hall of the Mountain King (149mb)

The Babylon Run Trilogy by Steve Gallagher

The Babylon Run Trilogy by Steve Gallagher is a lengthy serial about the relationship between man and machine in a future where the lines dividing the two become increasingly, and more dangerously, blurred. The series is a product of Piccadilly Radio out of Manchester, UK.

The Last Rose of Summer (1977): In the future the world's population resides entirely in the City, a megalopolis controlled down to the minutiae of everyday life by Central Command, a supercomputer. A lowly nobody by the name of Mitchell decides that this just won't do. He embarks on a crusade to overthrow the system, hunted down by Randall, one of the hardcore 'Elite', enforcers trained since birth to serve the State. (2 hours, 50 minutes)

Hunter's Moon (1978): The Central Computer destroyed, society is on the verge of collapse, only to be 'saved' by the advent of the Council, tyrants who have seized power in the vacuum. Randall, contaminated by his exposure to Mitchell, is packed off to a polar prison complex. Then a new threat emerges: an alien race arrives - the Wekk - who rape planets to build their Worldships. Having patterned Mitchell's persona into a mechanical simulacrum, they begin building an army of simulacra to overwhelm the Earth. The Council has even sold out to the Wekk to save their own hides. Only Randall, Lobo - a fellow convict - and the Mitchell simulacra stand in their way. (3 hours, 30 minutes)

The Babylon Run (1979): Hundreds of years later, in a time when Man has spread out to the stars, a commercial charter makes a forced landing on the Babylon asteroid, a luxury resort for the super rich. Their ship damaged, they are dismayed to find the complex abandoned due to an incoming 'something' on a collision course. If that weren't bad enough, there is mutiny brewing, and Babylon itself is not what it seems to be... (1 hour, 48 minutes)

The Babylon Run Trilogy (226mb)

Baseball (re-post)

With the Baseball playoffs starting this week I thought it would
be a good time to post some sounds from America's Pastime.

There are some classics here...
...along with a few surprises your may not have heard before.

There is also a podcast (aka bongocast)
that you can download and/or stream.

PLAY BALL!!!

Baseball (154mb)
Baseball bongocast (65mb)
Baseball & Baseball bongocast (219mb)

Take Me Out to the Ball Game (re-post)

"Take Me Out to the Ball Game" is an early-20th century Tin Pan Alley song which became the unofficial anthem of baseball, although neither of its authors had attended a game prior to writing the song. The song is traditionally sung during the seventh-inning stretch of a baseball game. Fans are encouraged to sing along.

The words were written in 1908 by vaudeville star Jack Norworth, who while riding a subway train, was inspired by a sign that said "Baseball Today — Polo Grounds". In the song, Katie's (and later Nelly's) beau calls to ask her out to see a show. She accepts the date, but only if her date will take her out to the ballgame. The words were set to music by Albert Von Tilzer, (Norworth and Von Tilzer finally saw their first Major League Baseball games 32 and 20 years later, respectively). The song was first sung by Norworth's then-wife Nora Bayes and popularized by many other vaudeville acts. It was played at a ballpark for the first known time in 1934, at a high-school game in Los Angeles, and researchers think it made its debut at a major-league park later that year. [Wikipedia]

Take Me Out to the Ball Game (152mb)

Not So Classical Classical (re-post)

Classical music is not just for the big orchestras and symphony halls.

Check out these "non-classical" musical groups
performing some well known "classical" pieces.

Download Not So Classical Classical (290mb)

Son of Not So Classical Classical (re-post)

Had some leftovers from "Not So Classical Classical",
plus, I found some more... so
the "Son of Not So Classical Classical" was born!!

Download Son of Not So Classical Classical (141mb)

Not So Serious Not So Classical Classical (re-post)

Not all classical music is serious…

Not So Serious Not So Classical Classical (94mb)

Provocative Persuasive Ping-Pong Percussion (re-post)

Back when I was about 8 years old (circa 1960) my Dad brought home an album, spun it on our console stereo and my life changed forever.

That album was Enoch Light's "Provocative Percussion" which was one (and probably the best) of many "percussion" albums of the late 1950's and early 1960's.

Here is a two volume sampling:

SendSpace: Percussion Volume One (156mb)
MediaFire: Percussion Volume One (156mb)

SendSpace: Percussion Volume Two (153mb)
MediaFire: Percussion Volume Two (153mb)

Superstar (from Jesus Christ Superstar)

"Jesus Christ Superstar" is the title song from the 1970 rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.

It was released as a single in 1970, before the album was completed. Sung by Murray Head with the Trindad Singers, it reached #78 on first release. Murray Head reached #14 in the U.S. with a single version in 1971.

It is sung by the spirit of Judas Iscariot, where he questions why Jesus chose to arrive in the manner that he did and if what happened to him was truly part of a divine plan. Although it may be considered accusatory, it is dominated by the repetitive apologies of Judas for questioning ("Don't you get me wrong", "I only want to know"). Along with "I Don't Know How to Love Him", it is the most well-known song from this production. [Wikipedia]

Superstar (160mb)

Toccata and Fugue in D minor

The Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565, is a piece of organ music attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach. It is one of the most famous works in the organ repertoire, and has been used in a variety of popular media ranging from film (1975's Rollerball), to video games, to rock music, and ringtones. The attribution of the piece to Bach is doubtful and it has been challenged since the 1980s by a number of scholars. [Wikipedia]

Two compilations available;
a double CD and a less ambitious single CD.

Toccata and Fugue in D minor (Double-Disc) (284mb)

Toccata and Fugue in D minor (Single-Disc) (144mb)