The music of Don Gillis; Pops potpourri

You're listening to music by Don Gillis. Did you ever notice that the first part of a radio program starts out with things like you are listening to so-and-so or the national educational radio network presents such and such then generally you'll hear the music and the announcer comes on to tell you a deep bass voice what you're going to hear. Hoping all the while that you'll stay tuned so you'll hear him say what it is he's going to tell you what you're going to hear. Then following Radionics tradition he may say something like this is Daniel is saying welcome and so forth and presently you will hear the first tune. Well on this program things are going to be different. I just feel that since this is the 10th broadcast that you are already aware of the fact that your commentator is Don Gillis and that we're playing the music of Don Gillis. And so there isn't any real point of mentioning it. So we won't

instead I'll just say that we have 23 minutes and 40 seconds of music and you can sort it out to suit yourself. Actually that's unfair because you probably haven't heard any of the pieces before so I'll say that there will be six short pieces in a sort of pop's Popery that adds up to some rather pleasant listening. And then as you so frequently hear on the radio I'll say and in a deep bass voice too. Our program begins with the January February March. Wow.

Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow boy. I m.

I s. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Yes. You did. The Kings were a symphony orchestra in the January February March has been the opening music

on this program we're calling pops and on corps and it continues now with a movement from my Twinkletoes suite called Temple dance. If I were a music critic reviewing that last number I would say it must have been a temple dance

of Oriental character which probably grew out of an experience the composer had in Japan during the summer of 1955 and that would be true for the trip to the Orient led to the writing of a ballet about a youngster who danced her way around the world. A ballet I had in passing which really never got finished. However the completed portions were made into an orchestral suite called Twinkle Toes of which temple Dance is one of the movements. The music you'll hear next is also a slow movement and while one usually doesn't schedule to slow movements together in a program we're doing it because I happen to like to write slogans and this one is here handy to fit into the schedule. It is called Where the West begins from Portrait of a frontier town. Oh.

Oh. Oh. Oh oh. Oh. Why.

Why.

Where the West begins from Portrait of a frontier town a work written about Fort Worth Texas

and this particular movement title was taken from the slogan of the Chamber of Commerce. I seem to have written a lot of my music about towns such as Tulsa Amarillo Cameron Missouri in Atlanta Georgia. I thought of doing a one color and I'm going in walks a hatchet Texas but resisted at the request of my publisher and Stead wrote a sweet about Atlanta Georgia to movements from which we are about to hear first. Piedmont Park which is a playground for children in Atlanta and plantation song which is a composition to evoke memories of antebellum days with mockingbirds and magnolias and romance. Beneath the soft southern skies Piedmont Park and plantation song. I am.

I am. I am.

Nuf. Yes.

Lord. Oh.

The piece of paper I'm reading from says that Piedmont Park and plantation song are from the Atlanta suite recorded by its composer Don Gillis in Rome by the orchestra the camara.

It also says that I am to read the following in a professional radio voice to wit our concluding music will be a work written in 1900 for a short overture to an unwritten opera. Thank you.

The new concert orchestra of London under the baton of Nathaniel Nile has just been heard in a short overture to an on written opera As the final number on this the tenth broadcast of the music of Don Gill is on this concert which we call pops and on corps we heard the January February March. Temple dance from the Twinkletoes ballet suite

where the West begins from Portrait of a frontier town. Piedmont Park and plantation song from the Atlanta suite and the just concluded short overture to an unwritten opera an opera which by the way remains on written although I must admit that I did feel badly about this if I. They hadn't just recently completed a written opera which has no overture and I'm not joking or the opera is called Starr vally junction and has only the briefest of prelude before the curtain opens. No overture at all. I hope you've enjoyed this menu pops and on corps along with the word assortment read to you in my somewhat nonprofessional radio style and I hope also that you'll be back again for a concert next week which will include my Rhapsody for harp and orchestra and a patriotic and tada called This is America. It would be to will be the soloist and the harp Rhapsody and Ray Middleton will be heard in this is America week after next we scheduled five scores for performance. The first move out of my

Atlanta suite titled our fair city the ISA little quaver strings the blues from my Symphony Number Six Harry send set for portrait of a frontier town and for a rousing finale a set of variations on the NBC chimes called being banged long and for the final concert number 13 in this series I really haven't decided yet what to program. Frankly I hate even to think about it since this is. The last program will be doing and I'm already sorry that it's about over. While we're in a sentimental sort of mood let me express my gratitude to you for your response to this series. And I do promise you that I'll try to answer every one of your cards and letters as soon as I can. Music by Don Gillis is brought to you each week by the National Educational Radio Network and is produced by Riverdale productions under the supervision of John Corbett. And since we've been doing this particular broadcast with the slight tongue in cheek attitude toward radio we'll sign off by saying that your commentator and your program annotator and your conductor and your composer.

Now says thanks for listening and so long and I quote. Thanks for listening and so long. This is the national educational radio network.