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Fantaisie-Impromptu

Frédéric Chopin's Fantaisie-Impromptu (Fantazja-Impromptu) in C♯ minor, Op. posth. 66, WN 46 is a solo piano composition. It was composed in 1834 and published posthumously in 1855 despite Chopin's instruction that none of his unpublished manuscripts be published. The Fantaisie-Impromptu is one of Chopin's most frequently performed and popular compositions.

History
The Fantaisie-Impromptu was written in 1834, as were the Four Mazurkas (Op. 17) and the Grande valse brillante in E♭ major (Op. 18), but unlike these other works, Chopin never published the Fantaisie-Impromptu. Instead, Julian Fontana published it posthumously, along with other waltzes Opp. 69 and 70. It is unknown why Chopin did not release the Fantaisie-Impromptu. James Huneker called parts of it "mawkish" and "without nobility". Ernst Oster conducted a technical examination of the piece which hints at similarities between the Fantaisie-Impromptu and Ludwig van Beethoven's "Moonlight" Sonata (Quasi una fantasia), which he cites as the reason for Chopin's reluctance to publish the piece. It is also recognized that it resembles the Impromptu in E♭ major, Op. 89 composed by Ignaz Moscheles and published in 1834, the same year Chopin composed his Fantaisie-Impromptu.

The mystery may have been solved in 1960 when pianist Arthur Rubinstein acquired the "Album of the Baroness d'Este" which had been sold at auction in Paris. The album contained a manuscript of the Fantaisie-Impromptu in Chopin's own hand, dated 1835, stating on the title page in French "Composed for the Baroness d'Este by Frédéric Chopin". The facts of its authenticity having been "guaranteed by the French authorities" and that it shows "a delicate care for detail" and "many improvements in harmony and style" in comparison to the previously published version, Rubinstein considered absolute proof that it is the finished work. In his preface to the "Rubinstein Edition", published by G. Schirmer, Inc. in 1962, Rubinstein surmises that the words "Composed for" in place of a dedication imply that Chopin received a paid commission for the work, so he had actually sold it to the Baroness.

Form

Ernst Oster observes that the Fantaisie-Impromptu draws many of its harmonic and tonal elements from Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, which is also in C♯ minor, and from the third movement in particular. Two measures after the melody sets in, an abrupt run features the same notes, only one octave higher, like the cadenza in the sonata's third movement (Presto agitato). The climax on a $6 4$ chord is similar in both pieces. Additionally, the Fantaisie-Impromptu's middle part and the second movement of the Moonlight Sonata are in D♭ major. The first and third movements are in C♯ minor.

For those and other reasons, Ernst Oster writes, "Chopin understood Beethoven to a degree that no one who has written on the C♯ minor Sonata or the Fantaisie-Impromptu has ever understood him. ... The Fantaisie-Impromptu is perhaps the only instance where one genius discloses to us—if only by means of a composition of his own—what he actually hears in the work of another genius."

The piece uses many cross-rhythms (the right hand plays sixteenth notes against the left hand playing triplets) and a ceaselessly moving note figuration, and is in cut time. The opening tempo is marked allegro agitato. The tempo changes to largo and later moderato cantabile when the key changes to D♭ major, the enharmonic equivalent of the more obscure tonic major key of C♯ major, that is, the parallel major of C♯ minor.

The piece then changes to presto (although some versions of the score incorporate a coda, meaning that the original tempo of allegro agitato is repeated) where it continues in C♯ minor as before. It concludes in an ambiguous fantasy-like ending, in a quiet and mysterious way, where the left hand replays the first few notes of the moderato section theme, while the right hand continues playing sixteenth notes (semiquavers). The piece resolves and gently ends on a C♯ major rolled chord (a Picardy third).

Legacy
The melody of the Fantaisie-Impromptu's middle section was used in the popular Vaudeville song "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows". That theme was quoted in Variation 10 of Federico Mompou's Variations on a Theme of Chopin, which is otherwise based on Chopin's Prelude No. 7 in A major. George Crumb's Makrokosmos, Volume 1: 11. Dream Images (Love-Death Music) (Gemini) includes three quotations from the Fantaisie-Impromptu's middle section.

title: Fantaisie-Impromptu


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Talk:Shelley Berman

Untitled
Just FYI, this article has been reviewed and complimented by Mr. Berman himself. Check the forums on his site.--Xj14y 00:16, 22 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Jewish?
He's Jewish, right? I mean, he plays Larry's Dad on CYE, and so naturally he's very Jewy.

Why don't you look it up and contribute rather than spewing your insulting and adolescent comment? --Wikismile 19:44, 18 October 2007 (UTC)

Destroyed by Jack Paar
Many decades ago, the late Jack Paar had a late night talk show. Berman was a guest, and after being introduced told a series of jokes which received little response from the audience. Berman turned to Paar saying, "They're not laughing!".

Paar responded evenly, "You haven't said anything funny". —Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.80.227.31 (talk) 22:15, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

Date of birth
The consensus seems to be 1926: I have made the change. Jokestress (talk) 02:46, 28 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Historical Gazetteer Of The United States: February 3, 1926
 * Chicago Comedy: A Fairly Serious History: born in Chicago in 1925
 * The All Music Book of Hit Albums: born 1926 in Chicago
 * Pretty, Pretty, Pretty Good: Shecky Greene came in for an audition, and after him Shelley Berman, both of whom were born in 1926
 * The Great Comedians: Shelley Berman was born in Chicago on February 3, 1926
 * Chase's Annual Events: Shelley Berman, comedian, born at Chicago, IL, Feb 3, 1926

The article is missing his Date of Death, but appends an age of 91 to his birth date! WHPratt (talk) 03:42, 21 November 2016 (UTC)

Weird, incomplete grab-bag article about historic artist needs expansion and revision
Second only to his contemporary Lenny Bruce, Mr. Berman was an important figure in the sudden evolution of American stand up comedy into the insightful form it still has. He was more digestible than Lenny, less political than Saul, and he popularized the form. To the end of his life my father quoted to me Berman's gruff father on the famous album, "Remember, Sheldon, ya gotta friend in Chicago." His meteoric rise, and sudden eclipse, is part of his legend, just as it is part of Jackie Mason's. There are many solid sources to quote from, yet what we have here is a grab bag of odd and miscellaneous assertions. Berman certainly has the right to hold a grudge, but why is so much of this article about his anger at Bob Newhart, of all people? How is he a "philanthropist"? The word appears in the first paragraph, but no section supports it. Someone has even listed him in the Wiki for "Jewish philanthropists". If someone is policing this article in some way, he's doing Mr. Berman a disservice. Let's have some serious scholarship here. Profhum (talk) 22:36, 9 April 2013 (UTC)

 * You're right, it's barely more than a stub at present. It's on my list, and I hope to get to it someday soon.  So many articles, so little time.  DoctorJoeE  review transgressions/ talk to me!  22:45, 9 April 2013 (UTC)

Full Name
Shelley Berman was born Sheldon Leonard Berman.

First Stand-up Comedian to Perform at Carnegie Hall?
This claim has been made recently; however, although Berman was among the first, both Mort Sahl and Lenny Bruce appeared at Carnegie Hall earlier than Berman. Rhudson (talk) 15:59, 5 September 2017 (UTC)

External links modified
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title: Talk:Shelley Berman


text: User talk:69.214.40.223

title: User talk:69.214.40.223


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Wren Day

Wren Day (Lá an Dreoilín), or Hunt the Wren Day (Shelg yn Dreean), is an Irish and Manx custom on 26 December, St. Stephen's Day. Traditionally, men and boys hunted a wren and placed it on top of a staff decorated with holly, ivy and ribbons, or displayed it in a decorated box on top of a pole. This was paraded around the neighbourhood by a group of 'Wrenboys'—typically dressed in straw masks, greenery and colourful motley clothing—who sang songs and played music in exchange for donations. On the Isle of Man, the people afterwards held a funeral for the wren and danced around the wren pole. Wren Day has been undergoing revival since the late 20th century, although the wren is no longer hunted and a stuffed wren is used instead. There were similar New Year traditions in parts of Britain and France until the nineteenth century. It is speculated that the tradition derives from Celtic paganism.

Irish tradition

Historically, and up until the mid-20th century in rural Ireland, groups of men and boys hunted a wren (also pronounced wran) on St. Stephen's Day. They beat the bushes and hedges with sticks, and when a wren flew out they tried to down the bird by throwing sticks, stones and other objects at it. Whomever killed the wren was believed to have good luck for a year.

The dead wren was usually tied to the top of a long staff, which was decorated with holly, ivy and colourful ribbons. A group of 'Wrenboys' or 'Droluns' (lucht an dreoilín), wearing straw masks and costumes, then carried it in procession around the neighbourhood. They sang songs about the wren—to the sound of drums, fifes and melodeons—going from house to house collecting money, food and drink.

Today, the wren hunt no longer takes place, but Wren Day has survived or been revived in a few towns and villages, such as Dingle in County Kerry. Groups of Wrenboys hold small parades and carry around a stuffed or fake wren. They usually collect money for charity or to host a dance or "Wren Ball" for the town.

The Wrenboys have some similarities with the skeklers of Shetland.

Song
Whilst going from house to house, the Wrenboys would sing a song, of which there are many variations, asking for donations. One variation sung in Edmondstown, County Dublin ran as such (the last two lines of which are used in several festive British begging songs and rhymes including "Christmas is Coming"): The wren the wren the king of all birds St Stephen's Day was caught in the furze Her clothes were all torn- her shoes were all worn Up with the kettle and down with the pan Give us a penny to bury the "wran" If you haven't a penny, a halfpenny will do If you haven't a halfpenny, God bless you! In a 1978 recording, the sean-nós singer Seosamh Ó hÉanaí discusses Wren Day activities and the lore behind the tradition. He sings a macaronic, English-Irish text: "Dreoilín, dreoilín, Rí na nÉan (Wren, wren, King of Birds)".

Manx tradition
Traditionally, a wren was hunted on the Isle of Man every St. Stephen's Day, as in Ireland. Usually, the wren's body would be hung inside a ball-shaped frame made from two wreaths of holly or ivy, called the 'Wren Bush', which may be decorated with ribbons. In some villages, the wren's body was displayed in a small wooden box with windows, decorated with greenery and ribbons, called the 'Wren House'. These Wren Bushes or Wren Houses were held aloft on poles and taken around the neighbourhood by 'wrenboys', some of whom were decked in greenery or flew coloured banners. Singing "Hunt the Wren" (Shelg yn Dreean) and beating drums, they went from house to house asking for coins. When a coin was given, the donor might receive a feather from the wren. These feathers were kept or worn as an amulet to guard against supernatural harm and witchcraft.

At the end of the day, a funeral was held for the wren and it was buried at the parish church by torchlight. George Waldron recorded in 1731 that they buried the wren "with a whimsical kind of solemnity, singing dirges over her in the Manx language". According to folklorist Mona Douglas, afterwards a living wren was placed in a cage inside the Wren Bush and the people danced around it. This wren was then set free, before the bush was burned on the dead wren's grave. Manx folklore held that the wren's spirit would be reborn each year. According to Douglas, in the eighteenth century the Manx church were hostile to the ceremony, but knew they could not prevent it. She wrote that when the group arrived at the church with the sacrificed wren, the vicar "took good care to absent himself from the proceedings, for they were frowned upon by the church at that time as being Pagan and superstitious".

The tradition was revived on the Isle of Man during the 1990s. Today, it mainly involves music, singing and dancing around a decorated Wren Bush or Wren Pole in which a stuffed or fake wren is placed.

Origin
The wren celebration may have originated from Celtic mythology. Ultimately, the origin may be a Samhain or midwinter sacrifice or celebration, as Celtic mythology considered the wren a symbol of the past year (the European wren is known for its habit of singing even in mid-winter, and its name in the Netherlands, "winter king," reflects this); Celtic names of the wren (draouennig, drean, dreathan, dryw etc.) also suggest an association with druidic rituals.

Lleu Llaw Gyffes, a Welsh hero, wins his name by hitting or killing a wren. He strikes a wren "between the tendon and the bone of its leg", causing Arianrhod, his mother, to say "it is with a skillful hand that the fair-haired one has hit it". At that Gwydion, his foster father, reveals himself, saying Lleu Llaw Gyffes; "the fair-haired one with the skillful hand" is his name now".

In the Isle of Man, the hunting of the wren (shelg yn drean) is associated with an ancient enchantress or 'queen of the fairies' (or goddess) named 'Tehi Tegi' which translates to something like 'beautiful gatherer' in Brythonic (the Manx spoke Brythonic before they switched to Gaelic). The story goes that Tehi Tegi was so beautiful that all the men of the Island followed her around in hope of marrying her, and neglected their homes and fields. Tehi Tegi led her suitors to the river and then drowned them. She was confronted, but transforned into a wren and escaped. She was banished from the Island but returns once a year, when she is hunted.

Parallel traditions
The typical wren hunt occurred in Ireland, the Isle of Man, Wales, England and France, "areas where Celtic tradition was firmly entrenched". Although there was some regional variation, the basic pattern of the ritual was the same wherever it occurred. In the British Isles and Ireland, the wren hunt was usually held on St. Stephen's Day, but wren hunts also took place on Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, and Twelfth Day (5 January). By the early 20th century, industrialization and changing beliefs had begun to erode the tradition.

Wales
In Wales, the tradition of 'hunting the wren' (Hela'r Dryw) took place every Twelfth Day, and the practice continued in Pembrokeshire until the beginning of the twentieth century. Similarly to some Manx traditions, in Wales the dead wren was typically placed in a "Wren House" – a small wooden box with windows, decorated with greenery and ribbons – which was then carried around the neighbourhood by "wren bearers". In some cases, "wrenboys" caught a live wren and placed it in the Wren House, and then the wrenboys called on people to make offerings to the little "king" until the end of the day, when the bird was set free.

England
The tradition was found in parts of England, but it gradually died out or was put down by the authorities by the mid-nineteenth century. In the late 20th century, Pete Jennings and the Old Glory Molly Dancers revived the wren hunt in Suffolk, and it has been performed in Middleton on the evening of every Boxing Day since 1994.

France
A similar tradition is performed on the first Sunday of December in parts of Southern France, including Carcassonne. James George Frazer describes in his The Golden Bough a wren-hunting ritual in Carcassonne. The Fête du Roi de l'Oiseau, first recorded in 1524 at Puy-en-Velay, is still active.

Galicia
In Galicia, Spain, the Caceria do rei Charlo (Chase of King Charles) was performed. The inhabitants of Vilanova de Lourenzá would chase down a wren and, after tying it to a pole, would parade it and show it to the abbot of the local monastery, who would then offer them food and drink and appoint two leaders of the local town council out of the four candidates proposed by townsmen. This tradition has been recorded since the 16th century. It is unclear which specific date this tradition was performed on; sources call it "New Year's Day", which may not refer to the New Year on the Gregorian calendar but instead to the day after Christmas, which at that time was considered the end of the year.

Popular songs
In 1955 Liam Clancy recorded "The Wran Song" ("The Wren Song"), which was sung in Ireland by wrenboys. In 1972 Steeleye Span recorded "The King" on Please to See the King, which also reflects the tradition; on their album Time they made another version, "The Cutty Wren", named after the traditional English folk song. "Hunting the Wren" appears on John Kirkpatrick's album Wassail!. The Chieftains made a collection of wrenboy tunes on The Bells of Dublin. In the song "The Boys of Barr na Sráide", which is based on a poem by Sigerson Clifford, the wren hunt is also a prominent theme. Lankum's 2019 album The Livelong Day includes a track called "Hunting the Wren" that references several of the legends and practices connected with Wren Day.

"The Wren [Wran] Song" is also on the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem's 1995 album Ain't It Grand Boys: A Collection of Unissued Gems, as the last song in "Children's Medley".

title: Wren Day