Many of us find ourselves humming or singing a favorite tune or other songs we know while driving or in the shower. But how many of us think about how or where the song came from? We may or may not know the composer, but is the song their original material or did it come from somewhere else? Believe it or not, many so-called modern songs originated from classical music.
The great master composers of the seventeenth, eighteenth or nineteenth centuries apparently had no qualms about “borrowing” or “lifting” tunes from each other. Musical literature is rampant with this questionable practice. I suspect that plagiarism was not the big deal in those days as it is today.
Most, but not all youth today, view the great music of the past as not relevant, out of step with the times and even boring. Creative and imaginative teachers use this phenomenon of classics to pop to teach students classical music by showing them how themes are adapted into pop/ rock musical genres. The aim or goal in this type of instruction is to show that all types of music are important and should be appreciated.
Instruction may include having students listen to the original classical theme then listen to its adaptation into popular music. In this way students learn about the classics if pop music is used to introduce it in a non-threatening and interesting way. These classes have been shown to be most effective when teaching modern day students.
The hope is that students, through this type of teaching about music they didn’t understand or appreciate i.e. classical music, would come alive for them and eventually assure its survival in the world.
The following illustrates the popular music that was generated by the great classical composers of the past:
- 1890’s -“O Promise Me” from the musical Robin Hood based on an Italian opera Mala Pasqua
- 1910’s -“I’m Always Chasing Rainbows” from Fantasie Impromptu by Frederic Chopin; “The Marine Hymn” from Gendarmes Duet by J. Offenbach
- 1920’s -“Going Home” from the Largo from Dvorak’s Symphony #9 – The New World
- 1930’s -“Song of India” from the Song of the Indian Guest from Rimsky-Korsakov’s Sadko; “In an 18th Century Drawing Room” from Mozart’s Piano Sonata K. 545
- 1940’s -“Tonight We Love” from Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto #1 this was Freddy Martin’s theme song “Till the end of Time” from Fredric Chopin’s Polonaise in A Flat
- 1950’s -“Stranger in Paradise” from the Broadway musical Kismet, based on Alexander Borodin’s Polovetsian Dances. Also from Borodin is Baubles, Bangles and Beads; “Catch a Falling Star” from J. Brahms Academic Festival Overture
- 1960’s -“It’s Now or Never” based on Elvis Presley and also O Sole Mio, “Hello Mudduh, Hello Fadduh” from Ponchielli’s Dance of the Hours; “A Groovy Kind of Love” based on Sonatina in G Major by M. Clementi
- 1970’s -“Pictures at an Exhibition” by Emerson Lake and Palmer from M. Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition; “Could it Be Magic” inspired by Chopin’s Prelude in C Minor;
“A Fifth of Beethoven” – a disco version of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony; “Night on Disco Mountain” from M. Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain - 1980’s -“Midnight Blue” from Beethoven’s Pathetique Sonata; “Rock Me Amadeus” from Falco; “Mars” from Mars the Bringer of War from Gustav Holst’s The Planets
- 1990’s -“All Together Now” based on chord progressions from Pachelbel’s Canon; “Everythings Gonna Be Alright” from Bach’s Air on the G String; “Love of My Life” from J. Brahms 3rd Symphony
- 2000’s -“Remember” from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake; “Road to Joy” from Beethoven’s Ode to Joy in the 9th Symphony; “Lacrymosa” based on Mozart’s Lacrymosa movement from the Requiem; “Yatta” from Pachelbel’s Canon
It is interesting to note that in my research I found many more popular songs were based on Pachelbel’s Canon then any other musical source.
The above list is far from complete. This is just a sampling of some of the most well known songs. There are too many to mention in this brief space. The number of modern day composers using classical themes in writing popular songs is nothing short of staggering. The next time you hear classical music being put down, remind that person that there is a good chance they are hearing a classical theme that inspired the popular song they are hearing.
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