Sunday, May 30, 2021

MEMORIAL DAY AND CIVIL WAR MUSIC

 



 

Memorial Day is a time to remember the many patriots who gave their lives defending our  freedom and fighting for our country.

We honor those who died in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam, the Gulf War, and others.

On this day I'm thinking of the American Civil War, during which approximately 620,000 men lost their lives. It is certainly one of the most romanticized wars. I regard it with haunting nostalgia, acute sentimentality, heart-wrenching sadness.

When I lived in the Missouri Ozarks my home was only two miles away from Wilson's Creek National Battlefield (near Springfield), which was the site of a major Civil War battle in August, 1861.  I visited Wilson's Creek countless times and never failed to be mesmerized by the haunting, almost-surrealistic aura of the place.

It was during this time that I began arranging songs from the Civil War for solo piano. A few years ago I put some of these songs into a video, along with photos taken during the Civil War.

I decided to post this video in honor of Memorial Day. It includes seven songs and is ten minutes long.
I initially thought it was too long and planned to edit it - but finally decided to leave it complete.

My very favorite arrangement is the last song (When Johnny Comes Marching Home), which I wrote as a set of variations.

Have a wonderful holiday weekend.    Jon


This video is definitely best viewed full-screen

The volume (of the video) doesn't seem to be working properly on my blog. You can always watch it on my YouTube channel Jayveesonata.

 

14 comments:

  1. Very touching tribute to our fallen heros of the Civil War - and how fitting!

    I once took a tour of the Gettysburg battlefield in PA - haunting INDEED! The souls who lost their lives there STILL walk the field to this day. I got a sad, humbling feeling during my visit to this place - quite a history.

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    1. Gettysburg is immersed in rich history and vibrant echos of the past. Supposedly one of the most haunted and haunting historic places in the U.S. You are fortunate to have seen it.

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  2. You've chosen some wonderfully evocative photos and paintings, Jon. For unknown reasons, I've also had a keen interest in the Civil War; the Confederacy. Sentimentality, indeed!
    This video makes me want to learn more. (Thankfully, I'm in the right place!)

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    1. I've read a LOT about the Civil War and yet feel that I know very little. The old photos are truly haunting and inspiring. I never tire of looking at them.

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  3. Our local radio station plays nothing but civil war music and parotitic song for Memorial Day and July 4th. I never miss it. Like Lady Caer, I have a friend who lives right off the battlefields in Gettysburg. A beautiful home and property, but I agree there is a heaviness and haunting feel in the air. I do believe too lost souls who aren't aware they've passed on still wander.

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    1. I love the songs and music from the Civil War era - and many other old patriotic songs (especially from World War I). I've never visited Gettysburg, but from what I've heard it is drenched in the haunting aura of history.

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  4. Volume worked fine here. Magnificent piano medley. I have letters that my enate great grandfather sent to his wife for 3 years before he was captured by Union forces. They describe an awesome odyssey in defense of "states' rights", which is what he believed. He survived, raised his family. One granddaughter, to whom I always referred as Mama, left the South to Get her Master's Degree at Berkeley. She met a handsome Portaghee, and I got born 10 years later. I grew up with both sides of the issue. Father teaching highschool and sometimes buying shoes for students underprivileged by poverty, ethnicity. Mother investing her life in compassion and improvement to students who needed both. Excuse my prattling on. Happy Memorial Day to all.

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    1. What a great story, Geo - your parents were two very special people and you are certainly blessed to have them. It's fantastic that you have your great grandfather's letters - what a treasure of information!

      Hope you and Norma (and Romeow) have a wonderful Memorial Day

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  5. Volume is fine... thanks so much for sharing, Jon!

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    1. The volume wasn't working properly yesterday, but today it's fine.
      Thank you, Louise.

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  6. This was so haunting, John, both in the images of the soldiers and their spouses. The variations on "When Johnny Comes marching Home Again" with the photos of the so young soldiers was especially poignant. We have visited Gettysburg and it is indeed a sacred and sad battlefield.

    Thank you for this reminder on the sad and very human effects of war.

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    1. It must have been an emotional experience to visit Gettysburg. Those old Civil War photos are so haunting - with so many untold stories. I was surprised at how alarmingly young some of those soldiers look.

      Thanks, Dorothy, I'm glad you enjoyed the video....and I hope it finally stopped raining in your neck of the woods!

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