Category: Music

Stamp of the Month: December 2018



Germany 14.4.1988

Jim Morrison

The American singer-songwriter James Douglas “Jim” Morrison was born in Melbourne, Florida on December 8, 1943. He died at the age of 27 on July 3, 1971 in Paris of a heart attack – the exact circumstances of his death were not clarified. In December 2018 Jim Morrison would have been 75 years old.
 
Jim Morrison is one of the most charismatic personalities of rock music in the late 1960s and was a key symbolic figure of the hippie culture. Together with the rock group
“The Doors”, he was the front man, Morrison advanced the repertoire of rock music to multi-layered concept pieces and shapes of rock theater. He wrote more than one hundred songs with a wide range of musical styles: blues, rock songs, psychedelic rock, hard rock, ballads, sea shanties and a-cappella singing. Musically, he also quoted classical Works by Kurt Weill and Johann Sebastian Bach. Although Jim Morrison mainly is known for his songs, his artistic oeuvre is not limited to music. He left more than 1,600 manuscript pages, including poems, stories, essays, short stories, song lyrics, scenic lyrics and screenplay drafts.
 

 
The video is a collage of old and new recordings: The former band members of The Doors play the last song recorded with Jim Morrison titled “Riders on the Storm”, synchronized with the voice of Jim Morrison.

Stamp of the Month: November 2018


Salvatore Adamo

The Belgian singer-songwriter, chanson- and pop-singer Salvatore Adamo was born on 1st November 1943 in Comiso, Sicily. This month he celebrates his 75th birthday.
 
At the age of four, Adamo came to Belgium with an immigrant family. He sang in the church choir and learned to play the guitar. In 1962 he won a music competition in France and published in Belgium his first record. Soon, he was one of the most famous pop-singers in France as well as in Germany.


Belgien 8.11.2008
In the 1960’s and 70’s, more than 30 of his own songs were placed in the charts. Numerous tours have taken him throughout Europe, Canada and South America. He sang his songs in nine different languages. Throughout his more than 50-year stage career, Adamo is not only known as a pop star, but also wrote numerous serious songs which he often performed together with other famous singers.
 

 
 
 
 
The video shows Salvatore Adamo in duet with the Belgian singer Maurane (1960-2018). The song “Inch ‘Allah”, written in 1967, unfortunately lost none of its relevance until today.
 
 
 
 
 
Inch’ Allah – God willing
I saw the Orient and its treasures
With the moon as a banner
And I intended in a few verses
To put its splendor into a song


But when I saw Jerusalem
Just like a red rose in the sand
I heard a silent requiem
When I held it in my hand
 
I found a chapel, I tried a prayer
But that’s when the nightmare began
Even the birds flew away with fear
When they heard the sound of guns
 
And I could feel the weight of hatred
With Cries on both sides of the street
Oh Lord of love weren’t you born here?
It’s you I had just come to meet
 
Inch’Allah! Inch’Allah! God willing! Inch’Allah!
The olive tree wept for its shadow
Its tender love, tender wife
Who was lying on the ruins
On the other side of life
 
Trembling on the barbed wire
A butterfly was watching a flower
Thinking “People are so mad”
They’d kill me if I cross the border
 
Children of Ismaël and Israël
Before your whole land turns to hell
Why don’t you try some steps together
Guided by a white dove in the sky
 
Inch’Allah! Inch’Allah! God willing! Inch’Allah!
Is our life a crucifixion?
Must we suffer through the years?
As we struggle for redemption
Washing blood away with tears
 
Oh yes I saw Jerusalem
Like a red rose in the sand
I always hear that requiem
Each time I hold it in my hand
 
Requiem for millions of souls
Of people lying in nameless tombs
In heaven there’s room for them all
Now enough blood, Salam! Shalom!
 
Inch’Allah! Inch’Allah! God willing! Inch’Allah!

In memoriam: Charles Aznavour







On October 1, 2018, the Armenian-French chanson singer, songwriter, composer and actor Charles Aznavour died at the age of 94 years. Even as a nine-year-old he sang in his parents’ restaurant. 1946 Edith Piaf noticed him and took him on a tour. With his raspy voice Aznavour, who sang in several languages, has conquered a world audience. In his more than 70-year career, he has composed more than 1,300 songs, sold more than 180 million records and played in over 60 films. With him died one of the last great representatives of the classic chanson.
 

Stamp of the Month: October 2018



San Marino 12.2.1999

Charles Gounod

The French composer Charles François Gounod was born in Paris on June 17, 1818. He died on October 18, 1893 in Saint-Cloud. In October 2018, his death marks the 125th time.
 
First, Gounod studied privately with a Bohemian composer and from 1836 at the Paris Conservatory, among others with Fromental Halévy. In 1839 he was awarded the Prix de Rome and traveled to Italy to learn about the music of the old masters.

After his return, he was church music director, choir director and organist in Paris and composed initially some sacred works, but from 1848 he turned away to strengthen the opera composition. In 1859, his most famous opera “Faust” brought him the breakthrough as a respected composer. The opera, which is often performed in Germany under the title “Marguerite” is still regarded as his masterpiece. Although most of his twelve operas are no longer on the board today, Charles Gounod is considered one of the most respected representative of the typical French Opéra lyrique. Due to the Franco-German War 1870/71 Gounod lived in London from 1870 to 1874, where he founded the Gounod’s Choir, which later became the Royal Choral Society. In his age, the deeply religious Gounod again turned to church music and left numerous oratorios and choral works. His “Ave Maria” based on the “Well-Tempered Clavier” by Johann Sebastian Bach is known worldwide as one of the most popular pieces of classical music.
 

 
The video shows the Ballet of the Semperopera Dresden performing the “Faust Waltz” from the opera “Marguerite” by Charles Gounod.

Stamp of the Month: September 2018



Spain 6.10.2000

Julio Iglesias

The Spanish singer Julio Iglesias de la Cueva was born in Madrid on September 23, 1943. In September 2018, he celebrates his 75th birthday.
 
In 1968, during a language course in Cambridge, Julio Iglesias wrote his first song “La vida sigue igual” with which he won the 1969 Song Festival in Benidorm and laid the foundation for his career. In 1970, he represented his country at the Grand Prix de la Chanson de l’Eurvision and finished fourth. With several successful albums he has applied since the 1970s as the “Father of Latin pop.” Julio Iglesias sings in 14 languages.

Before he largely withdrew from the public in 2011 he gave almost 5000 concerts in over 40 years and – with more than 300 million records sold, and about 390 gold and platinum records – he is regarded as one of the most successful solo artists worldwide.
 

In memoriam: Aretha Franklin – The Queen of Soul



Guinea 10.5.2010





On August 16, 2018, the American soul singer, songwriter and pianist Aretha Louise Franklin died at the age of 76. The musical spectrum of the “Queen of Soul” submitted by Rhythm & blues, gospel and jazz as well as pop and dance. Throughout her more than 60-year career, she has won numerous awards. Her number-one hit “Respect” from 1965 became the anthem of the African-American liberation and the Women’s Movement. In 1987, Aretha Franklin became the first woman in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 2010 she was named “best female singer of all time” by the music magazine “Rolling Stone” and she was one of the performers with the most records sold worldwide.
 

Mozambique 28.2.2012


Tanzania 1.12.1995


Grenada/Grenadines 19.11.1992

Stamp of the Month: August 2018


Leonard Bernstein

The American conductor, composer and pianist Leonard Bernstein was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts on August 25, 1918th He died on 14 October 1990 in New York. In August 2018, his birthday will mark the 100th time. Bernstein began playing the piano at the age of 10 years. He studied piano and composition at Harvard University and became famous overnight in 1943 when he short notice for the ailing Bruno Walter took over the management of a broadcast concert with the New York Philharmonic. Amber is one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century and led throughout his career including the New York City Center Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Vienna


Austria 6.7.2018
Philharmonic and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. As a guest conductor, he has worked with numerous orchestras and at all major opera houses around the world. As a composer, Bernstein created next to the famous musical “West Side Story” several orchestral works, stage works, chamber, piano and film music, as well as some vocal works.
 

In addition, Leonard Bernstein was an important music teacher. Take some time for the video: Leonard Bernstein answers the question “What is a Melody?” during one of his legendary “Young People’s Concerts” with the New York Philharmonic, recorded December 21.12.1962.

Gambia 12.10.1998



Guinea 10.5.2010

Guinea-Bissau 5.8.2008

San Marino 12.2.1999

Grenada Grenadines 19.11.1992

Grenada Grenadines 26.8.1998

Hungary 2.3.2018

Israel 7.2.1995

Stamp of the Month: July 2018


Jón Leifs

The Icelandic composer and conductor Leif Jón was born on May 1, 1899 on the island Sólheimar. He died on July 30, 1968 in Reykjavik. July 2018 marks his 50th memorial anniversary.
From 1916 to 1921, Jón Leifs studied music at the conservatory in Leipzig and was then very successful in Germany, Czechoslovakia and the Nordic countries as a conductor. In 1926 he first conducted a symphony orchestra on the Faroe Islands and Iceland. In addition to his concert career, he collected the folk songs of his native for the Phonogram Archive of the Berlin Academy of Music, wrote numerous concert reviews as well as articles about


Island 22.1.1999
Nordic folk music for various newspapers. From 1935, he was musical director of the National Icelandic Radio for several years. He later founded the Icelandic Association of Composers and the Icelandic copyright society. As a composer, he saw it as his mission to give Iceland a unique musical identity. Basis of his vocal works are the poems of Icelandic poets and his orchestral works depict Icelandic natural forces as geysers, drift ice and volcanic eruptions.
 

The video shows the New Era Orchestra conducted by Tetiana Kalinichenko with Jón Leif’s last composition “Consolations – Intermezzo for Strings, Op 66”. The recording was taken during the Gogol Festival 2010 in Kiev.

In memoriam: Jim Caine (“Jim the Jazz”)



Isle of Man 1.10.2014






On 11 April 2018, the British jazz pianist and radio presenter Jim Caine died at the age of 91 years. Jim Caine was born in Douglas, Isle of Man on 11 June 1926. He played as a jazz pianist in the band of Hugh Gibb, whose children Barry, Maurice and Robin (The Bee Gees) often sat on his lap. Caine’s radio career at Manx Radio began in the ’60s, where he first presented light classics – which he often played live on the piano. Over the years he developed such popular radio shows like “Music Miscellany”, “Jim’s Jazz Hour” and “Sweet & Swing” which he partly supervised until 2016. Jim Caine was also known for his encyclopedic knowledge of the artists and bands of the swing and big band era, which he was able to present in a very entertaining manner.

In memoriam: Avicii (Tim Bergling)



Sweden 15.1.2015




On 28 April 2018, the Swedish disc jockey, composer and music producer Avicii (actually Tim Bergling) died at the age of only 28 years. Born in Stockholm on 8 September 1989, the musician became known in 2010 through the songs “My Feelings for You”, “Seek Bromance”, and “Blessed”. He has worked with Coldplay, Robbie Williams, David Guetta and Madonna. 2013 he composed with former ABBA members Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, the song “We Write the Story”, which was used as the theme song for the Eurovision Song Contest. The song “We will find a Way”, produced along with Carlos Santana and Wyclef Jean, was chosen by FIFA as the official song of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Avicii composed together with the Australian singer-songwriter Conrad Sewell the song “Taste the Feeling” that probably each of us has in the ear as the promotional song for Coca-Cola.
By end of 2016 Tim Bergling, who’s stage name derived from “Avici”, the deepest Buddhist hell, retired from the public for health reasons.