Welcome to Shift, where Tom Allen takes you on a daily musical journey from the stalwarts of Classical music to the cutting edge of Contemporary tunes. Join us here on CBC music for a round-up of the stories of the day, some videos of music (or maybe just videos interesting to music fans) and a place to speak your voice.
Thursday August 16th
When George Gershwin wrote "I Got Rhythm," he couldn't have known he was changing the face of jazz. But he was. That song structure spawned hundreds of similar pieces, right down to the theme from the Flinstones. One of our producers at CBC Music, Michael Juk, has authored an incredible post, compiling the great uses of "I Got Rhythm" in other pieces. It's a must read.
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Today, we discuss the life of famed composer Josquin Des Prez. The thing is, having been born in the 1400s, a lot of the details of his life have become blurred. After a difficult youth, Des Prez managed to get employment from the King at the time, Louis XI. Then we found this weird piece of information online:
"In 1483 Josquin returned to [his home] to claim his inheritance from his aunt and uncle, who may have been killed by the army of Louis XI in May 1478, when they besieged the town, locked the population into the church, and burned them alive." - Wikipedia
Wikipedia, though vast with information, does not have a citation in this case. Can we simply believe that Des Prez's boss was also behind the death of his aunt and uncle? Though the story seems possible, the details are also quite extreme. Without a proper reference, it's difficult to believe. We're putting this one up to you. Do you know if this is at all based in reality? Is there somewhere else, any other source, where we can verify the seige that claimed Josquin's aunt and uncle? Please, help maintain the stories of classical music.
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A father in England found his one-year old child at the bottom of a pond with no signs of life. How helpful could an emergency service operator be? As the BBC reports, this time they saved a life.
Have you ever stuck your head between two wooden rungs in a railing, then found it much more difficult to get back out? Imagine if those railings, instead of wood, were made of stone pillars. You'll be happy to know, there is always a way out.
And from Sheree Fitch, we give you some words to get through the day. This is, The Sanity Prayer.
You can contact us at SHIFT with your ideas, questions, or anything else by sending us a message on our Facebook page. Through email, you can reach show producers Alison Howard ( alison.howard@cbc.ca ) or Alex Redekop ( alex.redekop@cbc.ca ).