A song cycle is a group of songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a single entity. As a rule, all of the songs are by the same composer and often use words from the same poet or lyricist. Unification can be achieved by a narrative or a persona common to the songs, or even, as in Schumann's second Liederkreis, by the atmospheric setting of the forest. The unity of the cycle is often underlined by musical means, famously in the return in the last song of the opening music in Beethoven's An die ferne Geliebte.

The term originated to describe cycles of art songs (often known by the German term "Lieder") in classical music, and has been extended to apply to popular music.

Classical music

The first generally accepted example of a song cycle is Ludwig van Beethoven's ''An die ferne Geliebte'' (op. 98, 1816), along with the song cycle ''Die Temperamente beim Verluste der Geliebten'' (J. 200-3, op. 46, 1816) by Carl Maria von Weber. The genre was firmly established by the cycles of Franz Schubert: his ''Die schöne Müllerin'' (1823) and ''Winterreise'' (1827), based on poems by Wilhelm Müller, are among his most greatly admired works. Schubert's ''Schwanengesang'' (1828), though collected posthumously, is also frequently performed as a cycle.

Robert Schumann's great cycles were all composed in 1840. They comprise ''Dichterliebe'', ''Frauenliebe und -leben'', two collections entitled ''Liederkreis'' (op. 24 & 39 on texts by Heine and Eichendorf respectively) - a German word meaning a song cycle - and the ''Kerner Lieder'' (op.35), a ''Liederreihe'' (literally "song row") on poems by Justinus Kerner. Johannes Brahms composed settings (op.33) of verses from Tieck's novel "Magelone", and modern performances usually include some sort of connecting narration. He also wrote Four Serious Songs (Vier ernste Gesänge), Op. 121 (1896). Gustav Mahler's ''Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen'', ''Kindertotenlieder'', and ''Das Lied von der Erde'' expand the accompaniment from piano to orchestra.

Hugo Wolf made the composition of song collections by a single poet something of a speciality although only the shorter Italian and Spanish Songbooks are performed at a single sitting, and Hans Eisler's "Hollywood Liederbuch" also falls into the category of anthology.

''Das Buch der hängende Garten'' by Arnold Schoenberg and Ernst Krenek's ''Reisebuch aus den österreichischen Alpen'' are important 20th century examples, and the tradition is carried on by Wolfgang Rihm, with so far a dozen works.

Hector Berlioz's ''Les nuits d'été'' (1841) pioneered the use of the orchestra, and the French cycle reached a pinnacle in Gabriel Fauré's ''La bonne chanson'', ''La chanson d'Ève'' and ''L'horizon chimérique'' and later in the works of Poulenc. Recent masterpieces such as ''Poèmes pour Mi'', ''Chants de terre et de ciel'' and ''Harawi'' by Olivier Messiaen, and ''Paroles tissées'' and ''Chantefleurs et Chantefables'' by Witold Lutosławski should also be mentioned.

Perhaps the first English song cycle was Arthur Sullivan's ''The Window; or, The Song of the Wrens'' (1871), to a text of eleven poems by Tennyson. The composer and renowned Lieder accompanist Benjamin Britten also wrote cycles that are among the glories of the literature, including ''The Holy Sonnets of John Donne'', ''7 Sonnets of Michelangelo'', ''Sechs Hölderlin-Fragmente'', and ''Winter Words'', all with piano accompaniment, and the orchestral ''Les Illuminations'', ''Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings'', and ''Nocturne''. Other examples include Vaughan Williams' ''Songs of Travel'', Samuel Barber's ''Hermit Songs'' (1953) and ''Despite and Still'', and ''Songfest'' by Leonard Bernstein, ''Hammarskjöld Portrait'' (1974), ''Les Olympiques'' (1976), ''Tribute to a Hero'' (1981), ''Next Year in Jerusalem'' (1985), and ''A Year of Birds'' (1995) by Malcolm Williamson, ''Honey and Rue'' by André Previn (composed for the American soprano Kathleen Battle) and ''Raising Sparks'' by James MacMillan (1997).

Modest Mussorgsky wrote ''Sunless'' (1874), ''The Nursery'' and ''Songs and Dances of Death'', and Dmitry Shostakovich wrote cycles on English and Yiddish poets, as well as Michelangelo and Pushkin.

Cycles in other languages have been written by Granados, Mohammed Fairouz, Manuel de Falla, Juan María Solare, Edvard Grieg, Lorenzo Ferrero, Dvořák and Janáček, Bartók and Kodály, Sibelius and Rautavaara, Frederic Mompou and Xavier Montsalvatge, Nevit Kodali and A. Saygun etc.

Popular music

Song cycles written by popular musicians are a short series of songs that tell a story or focus on a particular theme. Some musicians also blend tracks together, so that the start of the next song continues from the preceding one.

Musical theater

Song-cycle musical theater works are becoming extremely popular among both composers and fans of the genre. One of the earliest was "December Songs", created by Maury Yeston, and commissioned by Carnegie Hall for its Centennial celebration. They have been translated and performed in both French and German. Other examples include ''Cats'' by Andrew Lloyd Webber, ''Songs for a New World'' by Jason Robert Brown, William Finn's ''Elegies'', and Bill Russell's ''Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens''. Also 'Myths and Hymns' by Adam Guettel

Bibliography

Ruth O. Bingham, "The Early Nineteenth-Century Song Cycle", in ''The Cambridge Companion to the Lied'', ed. James Parsons (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004), pp. 101–119.

*

de:Liederzyklus es:Ciclo de canciones ja:連作歌曲 ru:Вокальный цикл simple:Song cycle fi:Laulusarja zh:声乐套曲

Coordinates	40°37′29″N73°57′8″N
Name	Van Dyke Parks
Background	non_performing_personnel
Born	January 03, 1943Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Genre	Americana
Occupation	Composer, Performer, Instrumentalist, Arranger, Producer, Lyricist
Instrument	Vocals, Piano, Harpsichord, Synthesizer, Accordion, Celeste, Organ
Label	Warner Bros., MGM
Website	VanDykeParks.com }}

Van Dyke Parks (born January 3, 1943) is an American composer, arranger, producer, musician, singer, author and actor. Parks is perhaps best known for his contributions as a lyricist and co-songwriter on the abandoned Beach Boys album ''Smile''.

Parks has worked with such notable performers as Grace Kelly, Delaney Bramlett, The Byrds, Loudon Wainwright III, Harry Nilsson, Silverchair, Ry Cooder, Joanna Newsom, Inara George, Keith Moon and Ringo Starr.

In addition to producing, Parks has released five studio album of his own recordings: ''Song Cycle'', ''Discover America'', ''Clang of the Yankee Reaper'', ''Jump!'' and ''Tokyo Rose''.

Early career

Born in 1943 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi and reared in Lake Charles, Louisiana, Parks attended the American Boychoir School '57 in Princeton, New Jersey. He began his career as a child actor. Between 1953 and 1958 he worked steadily in films and television, including the 1956 movie ''The Swan'' (which starred Grace Kelly). He appeared as Ezio Pinza's son Andrew Bonino on the NBC television show ''Bonino''. One of his costars on ''Bonino'' was 14-year-old Chet Allen, who appeared as Jerry Bonino. Parks and Allen were roommates at the Boychoir School. Parks also had a recurring role as Little Tommy Manacotti (the kid from upstairs) on Jackie Gleason's ''The Honeymooners''.

Parks originally studied the clarinet, but had moved to the piano before enrolling (majoring in music) at the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he studied from 1960 to 1963. In January 1963 Parks learned to play the guitar and soon relocated to Los Angeles to play with his older brother Carson Parks (writer of "Somethin' Stupid") as The Steeltown Two (later enlarged to the Steeltown Three), which eventually became the folk group The Greenwood County Singers (Parks took a short hiatus from this group, moving to New England to be part of The Brandywine Singers).

By 1964, Parks had an artist contract at MGM Records. In 1966 he was persuaded by producer Lenny Waronker to switch to Warner Bros. Records. During this time he worked frequently as a session musician, arranger and songwriter. Parks met Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson through Terry Melcher (who was then producing The Byrds). During 1966, Parks performed on The Byrds album ''Fifth Dimension'' (David Crosby had once asked Parks to consider forming a group prior to the formation of the Byrds, but Parks refused) as well as on the ill fated Beach Boys project ''Smile''. Also during this period, Parks' compositions, such as the hit "High Coin" for Harpers Bizarre, were becoming known for their lyrical wordplay and sharp imagery.

In 1965 Van Dyke shortly joined Frank Zappa's The Mothers of Invention on stage, where he was referred to as 'Pinocchio'.

''Smile''

In February 1966, Parks became acquainted socially with Brian Wilson. In his 1991 autobiography ''Wouldn't It Be Nice'', Wilson his first impressions of Parks being "a skinny kid with a unique perspective", and that he "had a fondness for amphetamines" at the time. Unsatisfied with ''Pet Sounds'' collaborator Tony Asher's lyrics for "Good Vibrations", Wilson first asked Parks to help him re-write the lyrics to the song; Parks refused, stating, "No sense walking into someone else's problem."

However, Brian Wilson soon convinced Parks to write lyrics for the Beach Boys' next LP, the ambitious but ill-fated ''Smile''. In preparation for the writing and recording of the album, Wilson purchased several thousand dollars worth of marijuana and hashish, and also joined Parks in popping "fistfuls of Desputols (amphetamines)". Several members of the Beach Boys strongly opposed ''Smile'', notably Wilson's former collaborator Mike Love, who derided Parks' lyrics as "Acid Alliteration".

The bitter resistance from the group and their record company had a strong negative effect on Wilson's increasingly fragile mental state (which may also have been exacerbated by drug use). Following a December 1966 recording session in which he was involved in a heated argument with Mike Love (who vehemently criticized his lyrics for the song "Cabinessence") Parks' involvement in ''Smile'' effectively ceased and he officially withdrew from the project in early 1967. Recording sessions ground to a halt soon after, as Wilson became increasingly withdrawn, and the album was shelved a few months later.

Several complete Wilson/Parks songs and other musical fragments written for ''Smile'' subsequently appeared on the Beach Boys' 'replacement' album ''Smiley Smile'', including "Heroes and Villains" and "Wind Chimes", although most were re-recorded in drastically scaled-down arrangements. Two other key songs written and recorded for ''Smile'' -- "Cabinessence" and "Surf's Up" -- were compiled by Carl Wilson and included on the ''20/20 and ''Surf's Up LPs in more or less the same form as Wilson had intended them for ''Smile'', while the song "Cool Cool Water" (an extended track built around the Smile fragment "I love to say Dada") later appeared on the ''Sunflower'' album.

''Smile'' acquired legendary status as one of the great lost works of Sixties pop, and although fragments were subsequently issued in various forms over the years, the form and exact content of the work as Wilson and Parks had conceived it remained hotly debated. Public interest in ''Smile'' was greatly revived by the release of a significant cache of recordings from the original Smile sessions on the Beach Boys 30th anniversary boxed set in 1993.

In 2004, following the great success of his acclaimed live performances of the Beach Boys ''Pet Sounds'' album, and with the support of his band's musical director Darian Sahanaja, Wilson made the surprise announcement that he was going to finish the mythical record using his current touring band. He contacted Parks, who helped fill in gaps in the original lyrics, and the duo re-recorded the album and then presented it on a world tour, beginning with the world premiere performance at the Royal Festival Hall in London, which Parks attended.

Solo music career

In 1968, Parks released his first solo album, ''Song Cycle'' (produced by his friend Lenny Waronker) which combined orchestral textures and traditional Americana-meets-psychedelic pop song structure. AllMusic's Jason Ankeny has described the album as

an audacious and occasionally brilliant attempt to mount a fully orchestrated, classically minded work within the context of contemporary pop. As indicated by its title, ''Song Cycle'' is a thematically coherent work, one which attempts to embrace the breadth of American popular music; bluegrass, ragtime, show tunes -- nothing escapes Parks' radar, and the sheer eclecticism and individualism of his work is remarkable. ...[T]he album is both forward-thinking and backward-minded, a collision of bygone musical styles with the progressive sensibilities of the late '60s; while occasionally overambitious and at times insufferably coy, it's nevertheless a one-of-a-kind record, the product of true inspiration.

''Song Cycle'' established Parks' signature approach of mining and updating old American musical traditions, including ragtime and New Orleans-style jazz, and includes the Randy Newman song "Vine Street". The album reportedly cost more than US$35,000 to produce, making it one of the most expensive pop albums ever recorded up to that time. Despite rave critical reviews, it sold very poorly so Warner Bros publicist Stan Cornyn wrote a tongue-in-cheek advertisement hoping to promote it. Opening with a declaration that the label had "lost $35,509 on 'the album of the year' (dammit)", the ad suggested that those who had purchased the album had probably worn their copies out by playing it over and over, and encouraged listeners to send these supposedly worn-out copies back to Warner Bros, who would exchange it for two new copies, including one "to educate a friend with". Incensed by the tactic, Parks accused Cornyn of trying to kill his career.

Four years later, Parks' travels to the West Indies inspired his second solo album ''Discover America''. ''Discover America'' was a tribute to the islands of Trinidad and Tobago and to calypso music. Parks re-arranged and re-produced obscure songs and calypso classics. This direction was continued in the 1976 release ''Clang of the Yankee Reaper''.

Parks' 1984 album ''Jump!'' featured songs adapted from the stories of Uncle Remus and Brer Rabbit. The album features a Broadway-style reduced orchestra plus Americana additions like banjo, mandolin, and steel drums. Parks composed the album but did not arrange or produce it. Martin Kibbee contributed to the lyrics.

Following ''Jump!'', in 1989 Warner Brothers released ''Tokyo Rose''. This concept album focuses on the history of Japanese/U.S. relations from the 19th century to the "trade war" of the time of its release. The songs are pop tunes with an orchestral treatment including Japanese instruments and old Parks Caribbean favorites like steel drums. The album did not sell well and was not widely critically noticed.

In 1995 Parks surprised fans and critics by teaming up again with Brian Wilson to create the album ''Orange Crate Art''. Parks wrote all of the songs on the album, except "This Town Goes Down At Sunset" and George Gershwin instrumental "Lullaby", with vocals by Wilson. ''Orange Crate Art'' is a tribute to the Southern California of the early 1900s, and a lyrical tribute to the beauty of Northern California.

1998 saw the release of Parks' first live album, ''Moonlighting: Live at the Ash Grove'', which shows a love of the work of 19th-century American pianist Louis Moreau Gottschalk as well as performances of several of Parks' better (and lesser) known songs. The live ensemble includes Sid Page as concertmaster.

Work for other artists

Parks has produced, arranged, or played on albums by artists including Tim Buckley, Delaney Bramlett, U2, Randy Newman, Harry Nilsson, The Byrds, Cher, Rufus Wainwright, Sam Phillips, Ringo Starr, Frank Black, The Beau Brummels, The Manhattan Transfer, Medicine, Keith Moon, Sixpence None the Richer, Carly Simon, Little Feat, T-Bone Burnett, Stan Ridgway, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Victoria Williams, Bonnie Raitt, Peter Case, Gordon Lightfoot, Fiona Apple, Sheryl Crow, Ry Cooder, Joanna Newsom, The Everly Brothers, Saint Etienne, Silverchair, The Thrills, Scissor Sisters, Laurie Anderson, and Susanna Hoffs/Matthew Sweet's covers collection.

In 2006 he collaborated with singer Joanna Newsom on the orchestral arrangements for her second album, ''Ys''. He and David Mansfield are co-credited with the music for the 2006 mini-series ''Broken Trail''. He also contributed orchestrations to the Danger Mouse produced second album by UK psychedelic three piece The Shortwave Set in 2008.

He also composed orchestral arrangements for the fifth Silverchair album, ''Young Modern'', on three songs, "If You Keep Losing Sleep", "Those Thieving Birds/Strange Behavior", and "All Across The World". Daniel Johns, the band's lead singer, traveled to Prague with Parks to have the arrangements recorded by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. The album's title is a nickname Parks uses for Johns. This followed his work on the band's fourth album, ''Diorama'', contributing orchestral arrangements on "Across The Night", "Tuna In The Brine", and "Luv Your Life".

Music in film and television

Parks has also scored a number of motion pictures, including Sesame Street's ''Follow That Bird'', Jack Nicholson's ''The Two Jakes'' and ''Goin' South'', ''Casual Sex?'', ''Private Parts'', ''Popeye'' (with Harry Nilsson), and ''The Company''.

Disney hired Parks to arrange Terry Gilkyson's Academy Award nominated song "The Bare Necessities" for the 1967 feature ''The Jungle Book''. Parks had four songs featured in the 1987 direct-to-video Disney film, ''The Brave Little Toaster''. He worked closely with David Newman on the film's score as well. He composed the theme song for Rudy Maxa's ''Savvy Traveler'' radio program on NPR.

The HBO Family series ''Harold and the Purple Crayon'', is narrated by Sharon Stone with music and lyrics written and sung by Parks.

Parks composed the faux-psychedelic song "Black Sheep" (a parody of ''Smile'' and Brian Wilson's style in general) for ''Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story'', sung by John C. Reilly, who portrays the titular character.

Other career

Parks has taken small TV and film roles including appearances in ''Popeye'', ''The Two Jakes'', and as Leo Johnson's defense attorney Jack Racine in episode #2005 of ''Twin Peaks''.

Parks wrote a series of children's books (''Jump'' (with Malcolm Jones), ''Jump Again'' and ''Jump on Over''), based around the Br'er rabbit tales, illustrated by Barry Moser, and loosely accompanied by Parks' own album ''Jump!''. The books contain sheet music for selected songs from the album.

Parks was given the job of heading the audio/visual department of Warner Bros. records in September, 1970. This department was the earliest of its kind to record videos to promote records.

New projects

Parks has completed work with Brian Wilson on a new narrative song cycle entitled ''That Lucky Old Sun (A Narrative)''.

He also contributed to the new record by The Shortwave Set, titled ''Replica Sun Machine'', which features a 24-piece orchestra and further input from John Cale. This was released on the 12th of May 2008 by Wall of Sound.

Parks worked with Inara George on a record released in 2008, ''An Invitation'', and they performed two songs together on 8 January 2008 at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, as part of the program ''Concrete Frequency: Songs of the City''.

Parks is a guest musician on ''Echo'' by Mari Iijima, released in August 2009. Iijima sang "Calypso," on Parks' album ''Tokyo Rose''.

In 2009, Parks performed in The People Speak a documentary feature film that uses dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries, and speeches of everyday Americans, based on historian Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States”. Parks performed with Bob Dylan and Ry Cooder on the documentary broadcast on Dec. 13, 2009 on the History Channel. They played Do Re Mi and reportedly a couple of other Guthrie songs that were excluded from the final edit.

Parks performed as a guest artist on the Grant Geissman ''Cool Man Cool'' album released in 2009

Discography

Singles

"Number Nine / Do What You Wanta", 1966, single 45

"Come to the Sunshine / Farther Along", 1966, single 45

"Donovan's Colours, Pt. 1 / Donovan's Colours, Pt. 2" 1968" single 45 (under the pseudonym George Washington Brown)

"The Eagle and Me / On The Rolling Sea When Jesus Speak to Me" 1970, single 45

"Occapella / Ode to Tobago" 1972, single 45

Solo Albums

''Song Cycle'', 1968 album

''Discover America'', 1972, album

''Clang of the Yankee Reaper'', 1975 album

''Jump!'', 1984 album

''Tokyo Rose'', 1989 album

''Fisherman & His Wife'', 1991 Book with cassette.

''Idiosyncratic Path: Best Of Van Dyke Parks'' 1996

''Moonlighting: Live at the Ash Grove'' 1998 album

Compilation Albums

"The All Golden/Music for a Datsun TV commercial" on ''The 1969 Warner-Reprise Songbook'', Loss Leaders promo series, 1969

"Ice Capades Commercials" on ''Record Show (Son of Songbook)'', Loss Leaders promo series, 1969

"On The Rolling Sea When Jesus Speaks to Me" on ''Loonie Tunes & Merrie Melodies'', Loss Leaders promo series, 1972

"G-Man Hoover" on ''Burbank'', Loss Leaders promo series, 1972

"Come To The Sunshine" on ''Deep Ear'', Loss Leaders promo series, 1974

"Clang Of The Yankee Reaper" on ''The Works'', Loss Leaders promo series, 1975

Arranged and conducted three instrumental pieces on the Hal Willner-produced ''Lost in the Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill'', 1985

"On the Rolling Sea When Jesus Speaks to Me" on ''On the Rolling Sea: A Tribute to Joseph Spence'', charity tribute album 1994 (song previously released)

"Keep Me In Your Heart" on ''Enjoy Every Sandwich: Songs of Warren Zevon'', tribute album 2004

"Greenland Whale Fisheries" on ''Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and Chanteys'' (2006)

"Sail Away Lady" on Hal Willner's ''The Harry Smith Project: Anthology of American Folk Music Revisited'', tribute album 2006

"Yellow Magic Carnival" on a Japanese release ''Tribute to Haruomi Hosono'', 2007

With Brian Wilson

''''Smile'' (Beach Boys album)'' sessions (bootleg) (1967)

''Orange Crate Art'' Brian Wilson & Van Dyke Parks (1995)

''Smile'' (2004)

''That Lucky Old Sun (A Narrative)'' (2007)

Other albums

''Replica Sun Machine'' by The Shortwave Set with Danger Mouse and John Cale. ''So Damn Happy'' by Loudon Wainwright III ''Strange Weirdos'' by Loudon Wainwright III

As Producer

Phil Ochs, ''Greatest Hits''

Steve Young, Switchblade of Love

The Mighty Sparrow, Warner Brothers

As Arranger

Rufus Wainwright

Kristian Hoffman

Inara George

Joanna Newsom, ''Ys''

The Bare Necessities

Filmography

''Goin' South'' (1978)

The People Speak(2009)

Books

''Jump''

''Jump Again''

''Jump on Over''

Sources

Pirore, Dominic, SMiLE, Omnibus Press

References

External links

The Music of Van Dyke Parks

musicOMH interview with Van Dyke Parks, 2011

80-minute 1984 KCRW radio interview by Bob Claster ''A Visit with Van Dyke Parks''

Van Dyke Parks on creativity, an interview with about-creativity.com May 3, 2007

http://articles.latimes.com/2009/dec/12/entertainment/la-et-people-speak12-2009dec12

Category:Songwriters from Mississippi Category:The Beach Boys Category:American child actors Category:1943 births Category:People from Hattiesburg, Mississippi Category:People from Ventura County, California Category:Living people

de:Van Dyke Parks es:Van Dyke Parks fr:Van Dyke Parks it:Van Dyke Parks ja:ヴァン・ダイク・パークス no:Van Dyke Parks fi:Van Dyke Parks

Coordinates	40°37′29″N73°57′8″N
Name	Gurdas Maan
Background	solo_singer
Born	January 04, 1957 Giddarbaha, Muktsar, Punjab, India
Genre	Punjabi BhangraHindustani
Occupation	Singer-songwriterActorMusician
Years active	1980 – present
Website	http://www.gurdasmaan.com }}

Gurdas Maan (, '''') is an Indian singer, songwriter, choreographer, and actor. He is considered one of the most notable figures in the world of Punjabi music. He was born on 4 January 1957 in Giddarbaha, Muktsar, Punjab, India. He gained national attention in India in 1980 with the song "Dil Da Mamla Hai." Since then, he has gone on to record over 27 albums and has written over 200 songs.

Early life

Gurdas Maan was born on 4 January 1957 in a Jatt Sikh family in Giddarbaha Muktsar, Punjab (India). His parents are Tej Kaur and Sardar Gurdev Singh Maan. Maan was formally educated in Malout. After completing his education there, his parents enrolled him in a further education institute in Patiala. As a keen sports enthusiast Maan was fascinated by the National Institute of Sports in the city; this prompted him to join the N.I.S. and gain a Masters degree in physical education.

He took part in youth festivals organized by universities and won several awards for his singing and acting, always supported by his friends. He competed in many athletic events and won medals including a bronze at the National Championship as well as achieving a black belt in judo.

Career

1980s

In one of his stage plays, he performed a song he had written called "Dil Da Mamla Hai." The play was seen by a producer for Doordarshan Kendra Jalandhar, the producer who thought the song to have potential approached Maan with a proposition for a TV performance of the song to which Maan agreed. When the song was aired on 31 December 1980 it gained national attention and Gurdas Maan became a national figure. The success of the song attracted the attention of HMV who wanted to record and release it. With HMV Maan eventually released his debut album a year later in 1981. When Maan began his career as a solo performer in India, the music industry was dominated by duet artists and he reportedly declined many offers to become part of a duet as he wished to perform and become a successful solo artist.

During his early career he also wrote and directed TV programs such as POP Time for the Doordarshan Network in Delhi.

1990s and 2000s

Gurdas Maan is often credited with raising Punjabi folk music from a regional level mostly in the Punjab to gain international recognition. His album ''Apna Punjab'' won Best Album at the 1998 Asian Pop and Media Awards held in Birmingham. Maan won Best Song for the title track and Best International Artist the same year. In addition to these awards, Maan more recently won three music awards of Best Lyrics ("Kudiye"), Best Song ("Heer"), as well as Best Singer of the Year at the ETC Channel Punjabi Music Awards on 6 March 2005.

Awards and honours

Gurdas Maan received an honorary degree of Doctor of Music from the University of Wolverhampton on 7 Sept 2010. Maan performed at the Royal Albert Hall for two nights in April 2011 as part of his UK tour. This was the first time Maan performed at the Royal Albert Hall, an opportunity that very few artists come across.

On other fronts, Maan has starred in blockbuster Bollywood films and has received numerous awards, including the Jury’s Award, presented to him by the president of India in 2005.

In 2009 he won "Best International Album" at the UK Asian Music Awards for ''Boot Polishan''.

In 2007 he won the National Award for Best Male playback singer for his songs titled "Couplets of Heer" for the movie ''Waris Shah - Ishq da Waris''.

Film

Gurdas Maan is best known as an actor for his performances in two films: ''Waris Shah-Ishq Da Waaris'' (2006), which was nominated as India's selection for the Academy Awards, and ''Shaheed-E-Mohabbat'' (1999), the film which tells the real-life story of Boota Singh.

Gurdas appeared in the hit film ''Shaheed Udham Singh'' (2000), in which he played the role of Bhagat Singh, a revolutionary, with no prejudices based on religion, caste or creed. As a singer Maan has worked with music directors such as Laxmikant Pyarelal, Bappi Lahiri, Anu Malik, Nadeem Sharvan, Amar Haidipur, Charanjeet Ahuja, and Jaswant Bhanyra.

He starred alongside Juhi Chawla in the epic ''Des Hoyaa Pardes'' (2004), an emotional film illustrating the tragedies faced by the people of Punjab in the 1980s. He adopted the role of a son of a well-respected Jatt (bilingual separatist) Gurdev Singh Somal. He falls in love with a high-ranking police officer’s daughter. Before the wedding, the father is murdered by separatists. This tale soon twists in to the inevitable demise of Gurshaan (Gurdas Maan). This movie was based on actual events.

Aside from singing in Punjabi, he is fluent in Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Haryanvi and Rajasthani. As an actor he has performed in Punjabi, Hindi and Tamil movies, but he is best known for his starring role in ''Waris Shah-Ishq Da Waaris'', a depiction of the Punjabi poet Waris Shah during the creation of his epic poem Heer Ranjha, again co-starring Juhi Chawla and Divya Dutta. He made a special appearance in ''Veer-Zaara'' with Shahrukh Khan and Preity Zinta.

He has appeared in ''Ucha Dar Babe Nanak Da'' (1982), ''Mamla Garbar Hai'' (1984), ''Long Da Lishkara'' (1986), ''Qurbani Jatt Di'' (1990), ''Pratigya'' (1990), ''Roohani Taaqat'' (1991), ''Saali Adhi Ghar Waali'' (1992), ''Wanted: Gurdas Maan Dead or Alive'' (1994), ''Kachehri'' (1994), and ''Zindagi Khoobsoorat Hai'' (2002).

Personal life

Maan is married to Manjit and has one son Gurikk who has done his schooling at Yadavindra Public School and Mayo College. He also studied at Eton College.

In Karnal, Haryana, India on 20 January 2007 Maan was involved in a car accident in which his Range Rover was hit and severely damaged by a truck near the town of Madhuban. Maan escaped with minor injuries on his face, hands and chest. His driver Ganesh was injured seriously but recovered soon after.

This was the second car accident of two that Gurdas Maan was involved in. The first accident was a head-on collision between Maan's vehicle and a truck on 9 January 2001 at a village near Rupnagar, Punjab. In this accident Maan's driver Tejpal was killed. Maan later admitted that his driver asked him to wear his seat belt minutes before the accident. Maan believes that if it had not been for his driver's advice, he would have been dead as well. Later he wrote and performed a song "Baithi sade naal savari utter gayi" dedicated to his driver, who was also his good friend.

**There was a third road accident where Mann was seriously injured. Please get details of that and add it as well.***

During a radio interview Maan revealed to the host, Gagan Grewal, that he is an avid supporter of Manchester United football club.

Controversy and accusations of plagiarism

In 2011, Gurdas Mann released an album called ''Jogiya''. The song "ਸਾਡੀ ਜਿੱਥੇ ਲੱਗੀ ਹੈ ਤੇ ਲੱਗੀ ਰਹਿਣ ਦੇ" spurred controversy among Sikhs as it was promoting derawad. Harmandar Kang has written a detailed article about Mann's controversial songs and his relationship with other religious entities.

Discography

2011: ''Jogiya'' (Sai Productions)

2008: ''Boot Polishan'' (Sai Creations/UK BOX OFFICE)

2005: ''Vilayatan'' (T-Series/MovieBox)

2004: ''Heer'' (T-Series)

2003: ''Punjeeri'' (T-Series/MovieBox/Music Waves)

2001: ''Pyar Kar Lai'' (Tips)

1999: ''Jaadugarian'' (Venus)

1998: ''Dil Hona Chahida Jawaan'' (Venus)

1997: ''Yaar Mera Pyar'' (T-Series)

1996: ''Chaklo Chaklo'' (T-Series)

1995: ''Ishq Na Dekhe Zaat''

1994: ''Aaja Sajna''

1994: ''Ishq Da Giddha'' (Tips)

1993: ''Ghar Bhulgi Morh Te Ake''

1993: ''Than Than Gopal'' (RMI)

1993: ''Aakarh Aa Hi Jaandi-E'''(Music Bank)

1992: ''Larh Geya Pecha''

1991: ''Dil Da Badshah''

1990: ''Mohabbat Zindabad''

1989: ''Akhiyaan Udeek Dian''

1988* ''Raat Suhani'

1988: ''Chugliyaan''

1988: ''Wah Ni Jawaniye''

1987: ''Geetan Bhari Patari''

1986: ''Nacho Babeyo''

1985: ''Kurian Ne Judo Sikh Lai''

1984: ''Chakkar'

1984: ''Peer Tere Jaan Di''

1983: ''Masti''

1982: ''Dil Saaf Hona Chahida''

1982: ''Disco Vichari''

1981: ''Dil Da Mamla Hai''

Filmography

2011: ''truck Driver''

2010: ''Chak Jawana''

2010: ''Sukhmani Hope for life''

2009: ''Mini Punjab'' (Speed OXL Films)

2008: ''Yaariyan'' (Universal)

2007: ''Mummy-Ji'' (special appearance) (Universal)

2006: ''Waris Shah-Ishq Da Waaris'' (MovieBox)

2004: ''Des Hoyaa Pardes'' (Universal)

2004: ''Veer Zaara'' (special appearance)(Yash Raj Films)

2002: ''Zindagi Khoobsoorat Hai''

2000: ''Shaheed Udham Singh'' (MovieBox) ...Shaheed Udham Singh

1999: ''Shaheed-E-Mohabbat'' ...Boota Singh

1999 ''Sirf Tum'' (special appearance)

1995: ''Subedaar''

1995: ''Bagawat'' ...Gurjeet

1994: ''Kachehri''

1994: ''Wanted: Gurdas Maan Dead or Alive''

1992: ''Saali Adhi Ghar Waali''

1991: ''Roohani Taaqat''

1990: ''Pratigya'' ...Billa

1990: ''Qurbani Jatt Di'' ...Karma

1990: ''Dushmani Di Aag''

1988: ''Baghavaat''

1987: ''Chhora Haryana Da''

1986: ''Ki Banu Duniyan Da''

1986: Gabhroo Punjab Da ...Shera

1986: ''Laung Da Lashkara''

1985: ''Patthar Dil''

1984: ''Mamla Garbar Hai''

1982: ''Ucha Dar Babe Nanak Da''

References

Category:Bhangra Category:Jat people Category:People from Punjab (India) Category:Punjwood film actors Category:Indian Sikhs Category:Punjabi-language singers Category:People from Faridkot Category:Living people Category:1957 births

pnb:گرداس مان

Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc () (7 January 1899 - 30 January 1963) was a French composer and a member of the French group Les Six. He composed solo piano music, chamber music, oratorio, choral music, opera, ballet music, and orchestral music. Critic Claude Rostand, in a July 1950 ''Paris-Presse'' article, described Poulenc as "half monk, half delinquent" ("le moine et le voyou"), a tag that was to be attached to his name for the rest of his career.

Biography

Early life

Poulenc was born in Paris in 1899. His father Emile Poulenc was a second generation director of the Poulenc, and later Rhône-Poulenc, chemical corporation. His mother, an amateur pianist, taught him to play. He was a capable pianist and the keyboard dominated his early compositions. Later in his life, the loss of close friends, coupled with a pilgrimage to the Black Madonna of Rocamadour, led him to rediscover the Roman Catholic faith and resulted in compositions of a more sombre, austere tone.

Career

Poulenc was a member of Les Six, a loose-knit group of young French and Swiss composers (it also included Milhaud, Auric, Durey, Honegger and Tailleferre) who had links with Erik Satie, Jean Hugo and Jean Cocteau. He embraced the Dada movement's techniques, creating melodies more appropriate for Parisian music halls than the concert hall.

He was identified with this group before he undertook his first formal musical training, with Charles Koechlin in 1921.

Poulenc's music is fundamentally tonal; although he made use of harmonic innovations such as pandiatonicism, chromatically altered chords, and even 12-tone rows (in a few of his last works), Poulenc never questioned the validity of traditional tonic-dominant harmony. Lyrical melody pervades his music and underlies his important contributions to vocal music, particularly French art song.

Poulenc's career as a composer can be divided into several periods. The first, which lasted through the 1920's, was the time when he was most closely associated with Les Six. Poulenc's most immediate influences during this period were Chabrier, Debussy, Satie, and Stravinsky, and he generally followed the irreverent, flippant aesthetic stance of Les Six with works such as Les Biches (1923), Concert Champêtre (1928), and Concerto for two pianos and orchestra (1932). Poulenc's religious reawakening in 1936 resulted in the creation of his first sacred pieces, Litanies à la Vierge Noire de Rocamadour (1936) and the Mass in G (1937); this trend toward "new dimensions and greater depth" in the composer's style was solidified by the song cycle Tel jour, telle nuit (1937) and Concerto in G minor for organ, strings, and timpani (1938). The remainder of Poulenc's career consisted of a "gradual deepening and distillation" of his basic style, and featured an increased concentration on sacred music and music for the stage, including Les Mamelles de Tirésias (1947), Stabat Mater (1950), Dialogues des Carmelites (1957), Gloria (1959), and Sept répons des ténèbres (1962). Among Poulenc's last major works is a series of sonatas for wind instruments and piano. He was particularly fond of woodwinds, and planned a set of sonatas for all of them, yet only lived to complete four: sonatas for flute, oboe, clarinet, and the ''Elégie'' for horn.

Poulenc had only one piano student, Gabriel Tacchino, who has performed and recorded all his piano music, lending it a unique insight.

Poulenc was a featured pianist in recordings, including some of his own songs (with Pierre Bernac, recorded in 1947; and Rose Dercourt) and the Concerto for Two Pianos (recorded in May 1957). He supervised the 1961 world premiere recording of his ''Gloria'', which was conducted by Georges Prêtre. His recordings were released by RCA Victor and EMI. Poulenc's ''Perpetual Motion No. 1'' (1918) is used in Alfred Hitchcock's ''Rope'' (1948).

Personal life

Poulenc was a member of a rich industrialist family; Rhône-Poulenc was and is one of the biggest chemical corporations in the world.

Some writers consider Poulenc one of the first openly gay composers. His first serious relationship was with painter Richard Chanlaire, to whom he dedicated his ''Concert champêtre'': "You have changed my life, you are the sunshine of my thirty years, a reason for living and working." He also once said, "You know that I am as sincere in my faith, without any messianic screamings, as I am in my Parisian sexuality." However, Poulenc's life was also one of inner struggle. Having been born and raised a Roman Catholic, he struggled throughout his life between coming to terms with his "unorthodox" sexual "appetites" and maintaining his religious convictions.

Poulenc also had a number of relationships with women. He fathered a daughter, Marie-Ange, although he never formally admitted that he was indeed her father . Her mother, "Freddy" is the dedicatee of two of his pieces. He was also a very close friend of the singer Pierre Bernac, for whom he wrote many songs.

Poulenc was profoundly affected by the death of friends. In 1923 he was "unable to do anything" for two days after the death from typhoid fever of his twenty-year-old friend, the novelist Raymond Radiguet. However, two weeks later he had moved on, joking to Sergei Diaghilev at the rehearsals he was unable to leave, about helping a dancer "warm up". Then in 1930 came the death of the young woman he had hoped to marry, Raymonde Linossier. While Poulenc admitted to having no sexual interest in Linossier, they had been lifelong friends. In 1936, Poulenc was profoundly affected by the death of another composer, Pierre-Octave Ferroud, who was decapitated in an automobile accident in Hungary. This led him to his first visit to the shrine of the Black Virgin of Rocamadour. Here, before the statue of the Madonna with a young child on her lap, Poulenc experienced a life-changing transformation. Thereafter, he produced a sizeable output of liturgical music or compositions based on religious themes, beginning with the ''Litanies à la vierge noire'' (1936) and including his opera Dialogues of the Carmelites (1956). In 1949, Poulenc experienced the death of another friend, the artist Christian Bérard, for whom he composed his ''Stabat Mater'' (1950). Other sacred works from this period include the Mass in G (1937), ''Gloria'' (1959), and ''Sept répons des ténèbres'' (1961–2).

Poulenc died of heart failure in Paris on 30 January 1963 and is buried at the Père Lachaise Cemetery.

Works

:See List of compositions by Francis Poulenc.

Books

Francis Poulenc ''Echo and Source. Selected Correspondence 1915-1963'', translated and edited by Sidney Buckland, London, Gollancz, 1991, 448 p.

Francis Poulenc, ''Correspondence 1910-1963'', éditée par Myriam Chimènes, Paris, Fayard, 1994, 1128 p.

Francis Poulenc, ''Journal de mes mélodies'', Cicero, 1993, 160 p.

Francis Poulenc, ''À bâtons rompus (écrits radiophoniques, Journal de vacances, Feuilles américaines)'', écrits édités par Lucie Kayas, Arles, Actes Sud, 1999.

Francis Poulenc, ''Moi et mes amis'', confidences recueillies par Stéphane Audel, Paris, La Palatine Ligugé, 1963, 206 p.

Renaud Machart, ''Poulenc'', Paris, Seuil, 1995, 252 p.

Henri Hell, ''Francis Poulenc'', Paris, Fayard, 1978, 391 p.

Jean Roy, ''Francis Poulenc'', Paris, Seghers, 1964, 191 p.

Carl B. Schmidt, ''Entrancing Muse: A Documented Biography of Francis Poulenc'', London, Pendragon Pr, 2001, 621 p.

Benjamin Ivry, ''Francis Poulenc'', Londres, Phaidon Press Limited, 1996.

Simon Basinger, ''Les Cahiers de Francis Poulenc'', Paris/collectif de l'Association F.Poulenc, Paris, 2008.

Pierre Bernac, ''Francis Poulenc et ses mélodies'', Paris, Buchet-Chastel, 1978, 220 p.

Richard Burton, ''Francis Poulenc'', Absolute Press, 2002, 114 p.

Francine Bloch, ''Phonographie de Francis Poulenc''. Paris / Bibliothèque Nationale (1984)

''Poulenc: Music, Art and Literature'', sous la direction de Sidney Buckland et Myriam Chimènes, Ashgate, 1999, 409 p.

Alban Ramaut, ''Francis Poulenc et la voix'', Lyon, Symétrie, 2005, 336 p.

References

Daniel, Keith W. (1982). ''Francis Poulenc: His Artistic Development and Musical Style''. UMI Research Press.

External links

Francis Poulenc 1899-1963, the official website (French and English version)

Category:1899 births Category:1963 deaths Category:20th-century classical composers Category:French composers Category:French classical pianists Category:Classical piano duos Category:French Roman Catholics Category:LGBT musicians from France Category:LGBT composers Category:LGBT Christians Category:Opera composers Category:Musicians from Paris Category:Ballet composers Category:Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Category:Les six

bg:Франсис Пуленк ca:Francis Poulenc cs:Francis Poulenc da:Francis Poulenc de:Francis Poulenc et:Francis Poulenc el:Φρανσίς Πουλένκ es:Francis Poulenc eo:Francis Poulenc fa:فرانسیس پولنک fr:Francis Poulenc ko:프랑시스 풀랑크 hr:Francis Poulenc io:Francis Poulenc it:Francis Poulenc he:פרנסיס פולנק la:Franciscus Poulenc lv:Fransiss Pulenks hu:Francis Poulenc nl:Francis Poulenc ja:フランシス・プーランク no:Francis Poulenc pcd:Francis Poulenc pl:Francis Poulenc pt:Francis Poulenc ru:Пуленк, Франсис simple:Francis Poulenc sk:Francis Poulenc sl:Francis Poulenc fi:Francis Poulenc sv:Francis Poulenc th:ฟร็องซิส ปูแล็งก์ tr:Francis Poulenc uk:Франсіс Пуленк zh:弗朗西斯·普朗克

Arseny Arkadyevich Golenishchev-Kutuzov () (1848–1913), was a Russian poet known in part for writing the texts of Modest Mussorgsky's two song cycles of the 1870s: ''Sunless'' and ''Songs and Dances of Death''.

He was a descendant of General Kutuzov who commanded the Russian forces against the Napoleon invasion in Russia in 1812.

Category:1848 births Category:1913 deaths Category:Russian poets

ru:Голенищев-Кутузов, Арсений Аркадьевич