history

When music became copyrightable 1

This entry was posted in History Music and tagged copyright history music on by

Classical music lovers know that in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, composers shifted from seeking patrons to support them to becoming freelance composers and performers of their own work. This was partially because of cultural changes, but I learned recently that legal factors also played a role. A key decision in British law was Bach v Longman, where judge Lord Mansfield ruled in 1777 that printed music was protected by copyright.
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Reclaiming the American narrative

This entry was posted in Commentary and tagged history liberty on by

Narratives are a powerful thing in shaping a culture or a political movement. Narratives are patterns of explanation that turn a series of events into a story. They ascribe a consistent purpose to actions and show one event leading to another. Sometimes narratives stray from the facts, but they don’t have to. What makes a narrative is an underlying direction and a causal chain.

They’re often more powerful than facts for influencing people. Convince people of a narrative’s validity, and they’ll ignore or reject what doesn’t fit it. They’ll accept even implausible conclusions that fit with it. They’ll admire people who promote it and dislike ones who contradict it. To persuade large numbers of people, it isn’t enough to muster facts; it’s necessary to assemble them into a story.
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The Old Issue

This entry was posted in History and tagged history liberty on by

Guest post by Rudyard Kipling: “The Old Issue,” 1899.

Note: Kipling wrote this poem, strangely enough, as a justification for Britain’s entry into the Boer War, not as a protest against any aspect of British rule. While we need to understand the historical context of any written work, this one is more satisfying if we take it on its own and apply it to our times, apart from its origin.

“Here is nothing new nor aught unproven,” say the Trumpets,
“Many feet have worn it and the road is old indeed.
“It is the King — the King we schooled aforetime!”
(Trumpets in the marshes — in the eyot at Runnymede!)

“Here is neither haste, nor hate, nor anger,” peal the Trumpets,
“Pardon for his penitence or pity for his fall.
“It is the King!” — inexorable Trumpets —
(Trumpets round the scaffold at the dawning by Whitehall!)

“He hath veiled the Crown and hid the Sceptre,” warn the Trumpets,
“He hath changed the fashion of the lies that cloak his will.
“Hard die the Kings — ah hard — dooms hard!” declare the Trumpets,
Trumpets at the gang-plank where the brawling troop-decks fill!

Ancient and Unteachable, abide—abide the Trumpets!
Once again the Trumpets, for the shuddering ground-swell brings
Clamour over ocean of the harsh, pursuing Trumpets—
Trumpets of the Vanguard that have sworn no truce with Kings!

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Silent film as history 1

This entry was posted in Movies and tagged history silent movies on by

My main interest in silent films is accompanying them, preferably for a live audience. The combination of film and live music provides a sense of involvement which is missing from modern movies. In the process, I’ve also found them to be a source of history. They show how people thought a century ago. The stories behind the movies are often as instructive as the movies themselves.
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Two Warner cartoons with racial issues

This entry was posted in Commentary and tagged cartoons history racism on by

Just a quick post on two Warner Brothers cartoons from the forties and their reception today. They’re from the 1940s, and both present black people in ways that would be unacceptable today. One is much worse than the other, but it’s the less nasty one that takes all the heat.

“Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs” is a spoof of Snow White with all-black characters. This isn’t a problem in itself, or we’d have to protest against The Wiz. The difficulty is that WB cartoons always drew characters as caricatures, and the ones in this cartoon draw on minstrel-show blackface. It wasn’t done to be offensive; it’s just what the Termite Terrace cartoonists did whenever they drew people. “So White” is quite sexy, and the jazz music makes for a lively short. The dwarfs are “in the Army now.” In a twist ending, it’s a dwarf rather than the prince who awakens So White with his kiss, insisting that how he did it is a “military secret.”
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