Ballet Egyptien, Op. 12 (1875), is Alexandre Luigini’s best-known composition and the only one of his works in the standard repertoire. The ballet consists of eight movements, from which two different concert suites have been extracted. The first suite is the better known. Luigini, who was a French violinist, conductor, and composer of Italian descent, […]
The Old Bazaar in Cairo
“The Old Bazaar in Cairo” by Clinton Ford, featuring George Chisholm, is generally reviewed positively, particularly for its entertaining lyrics and catchy tune. Some listeners remember it as a childhood favourite and appreciate its nostalgic value. One reviewer even mentioned that their grandchildren enjoy the song. Clinton Ford (1931 – 2009) was an English popular […]
One For My Baby
“One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)” is a song written by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer for the movie musical The Sky’s the Limit (1943) and first performed in the film by Fred Astaire. Harold Arlen described the song as “another typical Arlen tapeworm” – a “tapeworm” being the trade slang […]
Makin’ Whoopee
“Makin’ Whoopee” is a song first popularised by Eddie Cantor in the 1928 musical Whoopee!. Gus Kahn wrote the lyrics and Walter Donaldson composed the music for the song as well as for the entire musical. The musical was based on Owen Davis’s play, “The Nervous Wreck”. Donaldson was a prolific and popular American songwriter, […]
Jacob Collier
Jacob Collier is a British singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and educator. His music incorporates a combination of jazz and elements from other musical genres, and often features extensive use of re-harmonisations and close harmony. He is known for his energetic live performances, in which he often conducts the audience to sing harmony or play percussion […]
Le Onde
Le Onde (Italian “The Waves”) is the title track of an album released in 1996 by the Italian pianist and composer Ludovico Einaudi. Trained at the Conservatorio Verdi in Milan, Einaudi began his career as a classical composer, later incorporating other styles and genres such as pop, rock, folk, and world music. Einaudi has composed […]
Hot Stuff
“Hot Stuff” is a song by Pete Bellotte, Harold Faltermeyer, and Keith Forsey released as the lead single by American singer Donna Summer on her seventh studio album Bad Girls, produced by English producer Pete Bellotte and Italian producer Giorgio Moroder in 1979 through Casablanca Records. Up to that point, Summer had mainly been associated […]
Largo Al Factotum
“Largo al factotum” (Make way for the factotum) is an aria (cavatina) from The Barber of Seville by Gioachino Rossini, sung at the first entrance of the title character, Figaro. The repeated “Figaro”s before the final patter section are an icon in popular culture of operatic singing. The term “factotum” refers to a general servant […]
Boogie Wonderland
“Boogie Wonderland” is a song by American band Earth, Wind & Fire with the Emotions, released in April 1979 on Columbia Records as the first single from their ninth album, I Am (1979). The song peaked at number 14 on the US Billboard dance chart, number six on the Hot 100, and number two on […]
Anna Lapwood
Anna Lapwood MBE is a British organist, choir director and television and radio presenter, whose recordings have reached a wide audience on social media since she was appointed as an associate artist at the Royal Albert Hall in London in 2022. Lapwood was born in 1995 at High Wycombe. Her father is an Anglican clergyman […]