Music Meets Drama

  “Words, words, words, I’m so sick of words” sings Eliza Doolittle in the musical “My Fair Lady.”   Learning elocution from Professor Henry Higgins with assistance from Colonel Hugh Pickering, Eliza’s frustration was understandable.   The two men worked with her to change her cockney-flower-selling accent to an upper class high society proper English accent.   She repeated words over and over until the cockney was eliminated and her “proper” enunciation would fool people at a society ball. What does that scenario have to do with Kendall Banning, poet, and Gena Branscombe, composer?   Well, to be honest, both scenarios are about words, finding the proper words. Composers search at length for inspiring words, whether in poems, speeches or literature, that they will set to music.   From the composer’s heart, mind and soul, a melody emerges hopefully supported by lush   harmonies that combined give a deeper dimension to the meaning of the author’s wor...

  Chrystmasse seasons filled with joy, sadness, melancholy, sentimental remembrances, thankfulness for gifts received, gatherings of friends and family are what nearly every person experiences during their lifetime of Holie-dayes.  For Gena Branscombe there were many of those same experiences.   In her December 14, 1917 letter to her publisher Mr. Schmidt she wrote, “There is a foretaste of what the years will bring – this Christmas – a poignancy that has never existed before.   And just now we are waiting for later news of my cousin Gerald – who was severely wounded and gassed a few days ago.   I wish you could have seen the two older babies frolicking in the snow – this afternoon with their cheeks like peonies.   They’re both so huge that they can hardly both sit on their used –to-be capacious sled – and when their wicked mother would give an unexpected pull – one or the other would roll merrily off.   They are great fun.” Miss Branscombe wrot...

  ……”Mr. Lawrence Tibbett sang “Hail Ye Tyme (of Holiedayes)” last Tuesday and they say it went gloriously.   I missed it.   I hope you can use the publicity.   It would seem worth using. (December 26, 1935 letter from Gena Branscombe to Mr. Austin at Arthur P.   Schmidt Company, Boston, MA. – AP Schmidt Publishing Company collection at the Library of Congress)   Yes, the famous Metropolitan Opera baritone, Lawrence Tibbett (1896-1960) performed Gena Branscombe’s Christmas song, “Hail Ye Tyme of Holiedayes” in December 1935.   Whether on radio or concert is not known.   Tibbett an operatic baritone was also a star of movies and sang on the radio.   He has a Hollywood Star of Fame.   And, he was the first singer of his era who was wholly American trained!   In her letter Gena asks Mr. Schmidt if he can use this information for publicity knowing it would be worth using.   To have someone as famous as Lawrence Tibbett pe...

  “To Miss Lucielle Browning – With all good wishes – of Gena Branscombe”   inscribed on a piece of Gena Branscombe’s sheet music.   Who was Lucielle Browning?   An internet search offered information about Miss Browning.    Lucielle was born Lucielle Raynor Brown on February 19, 1913, in Jacksonville, NC and died on August 8, 2011 in Florida.      A number of my blog posts have been about discovering Miss Branscombe’s compositions either on E-bay or Amazon.  On occasion the works found are ones that I own yet I will buy them because they are autographed or inscribed to someone.  On other occasions a piece not in my collection appears for sale and obviously I purchase it.  This blog posting will be about these very reasons for a recent purchase of Gena’s music.  With friend and poet, Arthur Stringer, the two New York based Canadians collaborated on a patriotic hymn written for the Royal Canadian Navy.  “Our Canada...