Fanfare

A fanfare (or flourish) is a short musical flourish that is typically played by trumpets or other brass instruments, often accompanied by percussion (Tarr 2001), a "brief improvised introduction to an instrumental performance" (Griffiths 2004). By extension, the word may also designate a short, prominent passage for brass instruments in an orchestral composition. In French usage, fanfare also may refer to a hunting signal (given either on "starting" a stag, or after the kill when the hounds are given their share of the animal), and in both France and Italy was the name given in the 19th century to a military or civilian brass band (Tarr 2001). In French, this usage continues to the present, and distinguishes the all-brass band from bands of mixed brass and woodwind, which is called Harmonie (Kennedy 2006).

Etymology

The word has been traced to a 15th-century Spanish root, fanfa ("vaunting"). Though the word may be onomatopoeic, it is also possible that it is derived from the Arabic word anfár ("trumpets"). The word is first found in 1546 in French, and in English in 1605, but it was not until the 19th century that it acquired its present meaning of a brief ceremonial flourish for brass (Tarr 2001). Indeed, an alternative term for the fanfare is "flourish", as in the "Ruffles and Flourishes" played by military bands in the U. S. to announce the arrival of the President, a general, or other high-ranking dignitary (Randel 2003).

Fanfare for the Common Man

Fanfare for the Common Man is a musical work by American composer Aaron Copland. The piece was written in 1942 for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under conductor Eugene Goossens. It was inspired in part by a famous speech made earlier in the same year where vice president Henry A. Wallace proclaimed the dawning of the "Century of the Common Man". Several alternative versions have been made and fragments of work have appeared in many subsequent US and British cultural productions, such as in the musical scores of movies.

Instrumentation

A fanfare is a short piece scored for brass and percussion. The fanfare is written for the following instruments:

The Fanfare

Copland, in his autobiography, wrote of the request: "Eugene Goossens, conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, had written to me at the end of August about an idea he wanted to put into action for the 1942-43 concert season. During World War I he had asked British composers for a fanfare to begin each orchestral concert. It had been so successful that he thought to repeat the procedure in World War II with American composers". A total of 18 fanfares were written at Goossens' behest, but Copland's is the only one which remains in the standard repertoire.

Magic City

Magic City may refer to:

Fiction

Music

U.S. cities with the nickname

Other uses

Common Man

"Common Man" is a song written by Sammy Johns and originally recorded by him in 1981 via Elektra Records. Johns's version charted at number 50 on Hot Country Songs in 1981. It had "Easy to Be with You" on the B-side, and was produced by James Stroud and Tom Long.

It was later recorded by American country music artist John Conlee. It was released in February 1983 as the fourth single from the album Busted. "Common Man" was John Conlee's third number one on the country chart, and his first number one since 'Backside of Thirty" in 1979. The single stayed at number one for one week.

Chart performance

Sammy Johns

John Conlee

References

External links

Bastille Day

Bastille Day is the name given in English-speaking countries to the French National Day, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. In France, it is formally called La Fête nationale (French pronunciation: ​[la fɛːt nasjɔnal]; The National Celebration) and commonly Le quatorze juillet (French pronunciation: ​[lə katɔʁz(ə) ʒɥijɛ]; the fourteenth of July).

The French National Day commemorates the Storming of the Bastille on July 14 1789, an important event in Paris in a violent revolution that had begun two days earlier, as well as the Fête de la Fédération which celebrated the unity of the French people on 14 July 1790. Celebrations are held throughout France. The oldest and largest regular military parade in Europe is held on the morning of 14 July, on the Champs-Élysées in Paris in front of the President of the Republic, along with other French officials and foreign guests.

History

Storming of the Bastille

On 19 May 1789, Louis XVI invited Estates-General (les États-généraux) to air their grievances. The deputies of the Third Estate (le Tiers État), representing the common people (the two others were the Catholic clergy (clergé, Roman Catholicism being the state religion at that time) and the nobility (noblesse)), decided to break away and form a National Assembly. The Third Estate took the Tennis Court Oath (le serment du Jeu de paume, 20 June 1789), swearing not to separate until a constitution had been established. They were gradually joined by (liberal) delegates of the other estates; Louis XVI started to recognize the validity of their concerns. on 27 June. The assembly renamed itself the National Constituent Assembly (Assemblée nationale constituante) on 9 July, and began to function as a legislature and to draft a constitution.