Menoizikul; Midweek Musicalisms

September composers! It does not escape my notice that quite a few of my personal favourites had their birthdays in this month... Dvořák, Gershwin, Pachelbel, Purcell, Holst, Rameau, Pärt, J.C. Bach, as well as a few other familiar names. However, it's a busy month (winter was cold.... jus' sayin') and there were still several much less familiar or unknown to my ear, so here we go with the birthday composers for the ninth month. As per the format I've set, the name, the place of birth and the birthdate, then just a little on how the music affected me or points of interest, but leaving you to follow the rabbit hole if you so desire!

Let us begin with Giacomo Meyerbeer, Berlin, 5th of September, 1791. 

Much of this composer's work appears to have been for voice/s. There were several items that appealed, but this one... well... Pavarotti. I mean... PAVAROTTI. Met him once. And Domingo and Carreras. The Three Tenors were on tour in Sydney, and I was working for Playbill at the time. Got to go backstage after the performance to obtain some autographed programmes for a charity auction. I will say that P and C went through the motions, but might be termed perfunctory. D was charming and at least asked a question or two. Brief encounter, never forgotten. The concert was, of course, phenomenal. 

Back to here and now. This is perhaps not the best of the items I listened to from Meyerbeer, or the longest... but, well... Pavarotti!!!