Charles Williams and “Toy Violin”

Charles (Isaac Cozerbreit) Williams (May 8, 1893 –September 7, 1978) was a British composer and conductor, contributing music to over 50 films, but while his career ran from 1934 through 1968, much of his work came to the big screen as stock music and was therefore uncredited.  Williams was born on May 8, 1893, in London, England, UK, as Isaac Cozerbreit.  He began his career as a freelance violinist in theatres, cinemas, and symphony orchestras and later studied composition with Norman O’Neill at the Royal Academy of Music. “Blue Devils” is a popular march and Williams’ first success as a composer. It was originally published as “The Kensington March” and written for the opening of the Odeon in Kensington in 1926, where Williams conducted the cinema orchestra. When he left the cinema in 1928 the march was renamed “Blue Devils” and first published under that name in 1929, dedicated to the Territorial Army regiment Kensington Rifles.

     In 1933, Williams went to Gaumont British Films as composer and stayed there until 1939. He composed for many British films and radio shows and after the end of World War II, he became the conductor of the new Queen’s Hall Light Orchestra. Later, he formed his own Concert Orchestra.  Over the years, he composed many orchestral pieces and marches for his ensembles, which were recorded in the “Mood Music” category of light music and during the 1950s became familiar as film and television signature themes, often in his own recordings.  He died in Findon Valley, Worthing, West Sussex, England, UK, aged 85, on September 7, 1978.

    The following work by Charles Williams is contained in my CD collection:

            Toy Violin.

Wrightstown Octagonal Schoolhouse, Wrightstown, PA

OLD SCHOOL OF THE DAY

Wrightstown Octagonal Schoolhouse

2091 Second Street Pike

Wrightstown, Pennsylvania

Wrightstown Octagonal Schoolhouse, also known as Wrightstown Eight Square School and Penns Park Octagonal School, is a historic one-room school located at Wrightstown, Wrightstown Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1802, and is a one-story, one room, stone schoolhouse building, which has a wood shingled pyramidal roof and small terra cotta chimney. It operated as a subscription school from its construction until 1850. It was then used as a farm outbuilding, and in the 1980s as an artist’s studio, but was restored in 1996 by the Wrightstown Township Historical Commission.  The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. An open house is held on the third Sunday of each month from May through October. Open house hours are 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Admission is free.

Albert Marland and Limelight Waltz

James Albert “Bert” Marland was an English pianist, composer, arranger, and bandleader who is known for Face the Music (1953),  Here’s to the Next Time (1956), and Sunshine in Soho (1956).  Marland was born in 1904 at Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, England, UK. As Bert Marland he was a pianist in Percival Mackey’s Band in 1928. Later he played with Henry Hall’s BBC Dance Orchestra, where he also contributed some arrangements. During the Second World War, ‘Musician Albert Marland’ was a member of the Royal Marines Band, where it is reported that he sometimes provided some pianistic light relief in the Mess Room in contrast to the more formal, serious music that was usually expected. Post-war he worked in London’s West End and also fronted his own band.  He composed the music for the film “Sunshine In Soho” (1956). One of the 78s from the new KPM Music Library in 1959 featured Limelight Waltz by Marland. He died in 1976 at Croydon, Greater London, England, UK.  During the 1990s Limelight Waltz was used several times in the “Ren and Stimpy Show” in the USA.

    My CD collection includes the following work by Albert Marland:     

Limelight Waltz

Eight Square Octagon School, Old Bedford Village, Bedford, PA

OLD SCHOOL OF THE DAY

Eight Square (Octagon) School (1851-1932)

Old Bedford Village

220 Sawblade Rd.

Bedford, PA

The Eight Square Octagon School is located in the Old Bedford Village at 220 Sawblade Rd., Bedford, Bedford County, PA. There is an entrance fee $11 per person (adult). The village complex consists of 38 buildings. As visitors enter the Village property, they drive across the Claycomb Covered Bridge and step back in time to the 18th century, with over 36-period workshops and log cabins for a real immersion experience.  Period clothed craftsmen and women help people to learn about Bedford’s historic past.  There are the Village Tavern where one can time for a light snack, horse and buggy rides around the Village, historical reenactment, other special events, and the uniquely-shaped octagon schoolhouse, which was in use from 1851 through 1932.

Lutheran Theological Seminary Old Dorm/School, Gettysburg, PA

OLD SCHOOL OF THE DAY

Lutheran Theological Seminary – Old Dorm/School (1832)

61 Seminary Ridge

Gettysburg, PA

     The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg (Gettysburg Seminary) was a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It was one of seven ELCA seminaries, one of the three seminaries in the Eastern Cluster of Lutheran Seminaries, and a member institution of the Washington Theological Consortium. It was founded in 1826 under prominent but controversial theologian and professor Samuel Simon Schmucker (1799-1873) for the recently organized General Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the United States.  The “Gettysburg Theological Seminary” was established on August 1, 1826. Schmucker was elected the first professor and the seminary opened with eight students on September 5, 1826, in the Gettysburg Academy building, which had opened 1810. In 1832, the seminary moved to its first building, the “Old Dorm” on the ridge west of the borough, the ridge now being known as Seminary Ridge.

     During the three day battle at Gettysburg (U.S. Civil War – July 1-3, 1863), the seminary, on a ridge northwest of the town, became a focal point of action on the first day of battle, and the cupola on the Old Dorm served as an observation tower by both the Union and then the Confederate soldiers.  Also, the building was used as a field hospital during and after the battle. The 1832 “Old Dorm” (now known as Schmucker Hall) was used as the “Seminary Hotel” for dignitaries at the 50th battle anniversary in 1913.  A colonial-style portico was added to the southeast side in May 1914 to commemorate the reunion. The Gettysburg Seminary served the church as a pioneer in theological education creating among Lutheran seminaries the first faculty position in Christian Education in 1926, and the first teacher in sociology and psychology in 1942.

     In 1961, the Adams County Historical Society moved from the courthouse basement to Old Dorm, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.  The seminary was the oldest continuing Lutheran seminary in the United States until it was merged on July 1, 2017, after 189 years of operation, with the nearby and former rival Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia to form the United Lutheran Seminary. The new institution continues to use both campuses.  The current use of the Old Dorm is housing the Gettysburg Seminary Ridge Museum.

Unknown School (#2), Abbotstown, PA

OLD SCHOOL OF THE DAY

Unknown School (#2)

Canal and North Lake

Abbottstown, PA

There is another old, brick, one room schoolhouse near Abbottstown, in Adams County, PA, this one at the corner of Canal (SR 4002) and North Lake (T388).  Its current use is as a private residence.

Gerard Calvi and his Scottish Jig

Gérard Calvi, real name Grégoire Élie Krettly (July 26, 1922 – February 20, 2015) was a French composer and conductor, who was the author of more than three hundred songs, fifty scores for films, musicals, and comic operas.  Calvi was born Grégoire Élie Krettly on July 26, 1922, in Paris, France, the son of violinist, composer, and conductor Robert Krettly and Nelly (Zeude) Krettly. In 1941, during World War II, he began studying at the National Conservatory of Music in Paris. He then became part of the 13th Medical and Band Battalion of the 2nd Armored Division.

     In 1945, Calvi won the Grand Prix de Rome for musical composition. He composed music for Édith Piaf, Le Prisonnier de la Tour, with lyrics by Francis Blanche in 1946. In 1948, he wrote the music for the shows of the Branquignols, a troupe of Robert Dhéry and Colette Brosset, to which he remained faithful for several decades. Also he composed Ce n’est qu’une chanson for Liza Minnelli and Frank Sinatra in 1954.

     During the 1950s and 1960s, Calvi’s compositions were often either evocative and descriptive, or fanciful, or even deliberately burlesque on violins, flutes, and other instruments, but in a very studied way, with a touch of humor in these compositions or songs, of which Calvi was particularly fond.  This approach was often found in other variety music ensembles of the time such as those of Paul Bonneau, Pierre Duclos, Roger Roger, and André Popp. This kind of music is still regularly played on Radio-France. Calvi recorded a very large number of 45 rpm singles and 33 rpm LPs. Among those of variety music are Le Bal chez Madame de Mortemouille, the music for the film Le Petit Baigneur with Louis de Funès, and La Polka des menottes in 1959.

        Towards the end of 1950-beginning of 1960, Calvi hired the saxophonist Fausto Papetti for his “ambience” orchestra, asking him to play a few entertaining out-of-tune “notes” to bring a comic touch that he himself wanted to his compositions. Calvi wrote several pieces of music for the cartoons of Asterix (he is moreover caricatured in the album Asterix in Hispania), as well as those of the Minichroniques of René Goscinny. In 1967, he also composed the music for the “book-disc” Le Menhir d’or.

     In addition, Calvi was the author of numerous symphonic works, pieces for soloists, chamber music, operettas, including La Polka des Lampions in 1961 at the Théâtre du Châtelet with Georges Guétary and Jean Richard and La Mélodie des Strapontins in 1984 at Nantes, and scores for theater and cinema. He also composed an opera based on the play La Cantatrice Chauve by Eugène Ionesco which premiered in 2009.  Calvi was on several occasions chairman of the board of directors of the Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers of Music (Sacem), of which he was later honorary president.  Also, he chaired the National Academy of Operetta (ANAO).  He died on Friday, February 20, 2015 (at age 92), in Paris, France.

    My CD collection includes the following work by Gerard Calvi:

            Gigue Ecossaise (Scottish Jig).

Unknown School (#1), Abbotstown, PA

OLD SCHOOL OF THE DAY

Unknown School

Hwy. 30 and School House Road

Abbottstown, PA

There is an old, brick, one room schoolhouse at the corner of Hwy. 30 and School House Road near Abbottstown, in Adams County, PA.  The owner of the property across the street from the school knew someone who went to school here but he did not know the name of the school or any other information about it. It looks as if the building may have been converted into a residence at one time, but its current status is abandoned.

Frank Chacksfield and Summer Beguine

Francis Charles “Frank” Chacksfield (May 9, 1914 –June 9, 1995) was an English bandleader, pianist, organist, composer, arranger, and conductor of popular light orchestral easy listening music, who had great success in Britain and internationally in the 1950s and early 1960s. Chacksfield was born on May 9, 1914, at Battle in East Sussex, and as a child learned to play the piano and organ. His organ teacher was J. R. Sheehan-Dare (1857-1934). He had appeared at Hastings Music Festivals by the time he was 14, and then became deputy church organist at Salehurst. After working for a short period in a solicitor’s office he decided on a career in music, and by the late 1930s, led a small band at Tonbridge in Kent. At the beginning of World War II, he joined the Royal Army Service Corps, and, following a radio broadcast as a pianist, was posted to ENSA at Salisbury where he became the arranger for Stars in Battledress, an armed forces entertainment troupe, and shared an office with comedian Charlie Chester.

     After the war, Chacksfield worked with Chester and on BBC Radio as an arranger and conductor. He also worked as musical director for both Henry Hall and Geraldo, and began recording under his own name in 1951 as “Frank Chacksfield’s Tunesmiths.”  In early 1953, he had his first top ten hit, “Little Red Monkey,” on the Parlophone label. This was a novelty recording featuring Jack Jordan on the clavioline, and reportedly the first record featuring an electronic instrument on the UK singles chart.  He signed a recording contract with Decca Records in 1953, and formed a 40-piece orchestra with a large string section, the “Singing Strings.”  His first record release for Decca, Charlie Chaplin’s theme for his film Limelight, won him a gold disc in the United States, and in the United Kingdom, where it reached No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart, and won him the NME award as ‘Record of the Year’. It spent eight weeks at No. 2 (an all-time UK chart record), and in all thirteen weeks in the top five chart positions, without dislodging Frankie Laine’s “I Believe.”   His next 78 single, “Ebb Tide”, became the first British instrumental recording to reach No. 1 in some American charts, providing a second gold disc, and he was voted the most promising new orchestra of the year in the US.

     Chacksfield became one of Britain’s best known orchestra leaders internationally, and is estimated to have sold more than 20 million albums worldwide.  His material was “mood music, similar to that of Mantovani, including ballads, waltzes, and film themes.   In 1954, he began presenting a series on BBC TV, which continued occasionally until the early 1960s. Chacksfield was responsible for the musical arrangement of the first UK entry into the Eurovision Song Contest 1957; “All” by Patricia Bredin.  He continued to write music, release singles and albums through the 1950s and 1960s, and appeared regularly on BBC radio.

    From the album All Time Top T.V. Themes , several of Chacksfield’s tracks were used by a Dutch offshore pirate radio station Radio Veronica in the 1960s. “Rawhide” and “Dragnet” were used in the news jingles; “The Alfred Hitchcock Theme” was also used.  Chacksfield  continued to record occasionally until the 1990s, from the 1970s primarily on the Phase 4 label.  He also developed business interests in publishing and recorded for Starborne Productions, a company supplying “canned music” for use by easy listening radio stations and others.   Many of his recordings were used during Testcard and Ceefax intervals on BBC1 and BBC2 during the 80s and 90s. His last album was Thanks for the Memories (Academy Award Winners 1934–55), released in 1991. Chacksfield died in Kent, England on June 9,1995 (aged 81), after having suffered for several years from Parkinson’s disease. His song “Après Ski” was featured in the 2006 video game Saints Row, for the Xbox 360. Many of his recordings were made commercially available in 2007.  The main theme from his Latin-American style track “Cuban Boy” is used as the theme music for the BBC Scotland sitcom Still Game.

    The following work by Frank Chacksfield  is contained in my CD collection:

            Sunshine Beguine (1959).

Fraser (Frazier) Log Cabin-School, Quinsippi Island Park 1800s Lincoln-Era Log Cabin Village, Quincy, IL

OLD SCHOOL OF THE DAY

Fraser (Frazier) Log Cabin School

Quinsippi Island Park Lincoln-era Log Cabin Village

1419 Bonansinga Dr.

Quincy, IL 62301

1800s Lincoln-era Log Cabin Village, located in Quincy, IL, in Quinsippi Island Park, is accessed via All America Park, off Bonansinga Drive, on the banks of the Mississippi River. From “dawn to dusk” one can view the outsides of these seven original 1800s historic structures (4 log cabins, a log corn crib, a stone smoke house and a log church), plus a rail fence and an herb garden.  On Sept. 20, 2007, the Friends of the Log Cabins Association (FLC) was formed, when concerned citizens learned that the Quincy Park District was, upon request of original documented owners, returning the Log Cabins located on Quinsippi Island, to them. This was happening because the Log Cabin Village was no longer being utilized and the structures were deteriorating.

     The FLC association was established with the mission to “restore, preserve, and promote the utilization of the Log Cabins and other historic structures” currently referred to as the “Adams Landing – Historic Re-creation Military Tract,” now property of the Quincy Park District. Workdays have been accomplished and more are planned. Members, volunteers, and supporters are still needed to help with restoration or help raise funds or help promote activities and events in the village.  The Association had a professional restorer assess the log structures, and he recommended all structures be disassembled, new foundations built, each log restored and/or replaced, and then the structure be reassembled. Since then, one Log Cabin has been completely restored and another is in the works. Total cost if all work is hired would be over $250,000.

     The Village consists of seven cabins located on Quinsippi Island and built in the 1800’s, including the 1850 Clat Adams Log Cabin dedicated to Adams, who was a riverboat captain and storekeeper in Quincy. Some of the cabins have been refurbished and professionally restored by the Friends of the Log Cabins group.  The Fraser (Frazier) Log Cabin was re-built 2020.  This Log Cabin was a half way house built by George and James Frazier in 1828 built near the Fort Edwards road, with its beginning in Alton, IL and ending in Warsaw, IL which is now IL 96. Travelers would sleep in the loft. This was originally a Stagecoach stop and when it was moved to Quinsippi Island it replicated what a School House would have looked like. It was donated by Mr. and Mrs. James H. Fraser of Ursa, IL.