Paul Kelly

[Neville Briggs]

Matt must be having a bad influence on me,
I listened to a program on Saturday on the ABC which was a recording of Paul Kelly with James Ledger performing at the Melbourne Music Festival ( I think ) the program was called Conversations with Ghosts.

It was a stunning performance. Not the sort of music that I would rush out to buy the CD, but very good nevertheless. Very modern, minimalist and you might say spiritual. I really enjoyed the music and the blending with classic poetry for lyrics. The presentation was done with a small string orchestra and someone playing the recorder ( the woodwind instrument we used to have at school )

For me, it was of great interest that Paul Kelly had used the words of famous poems as his lyrics. And very interesting what poems he had chosen.

In Memorium. by Tennyson.
Lake Isle of Innisfail. by William Butler Yeats.
One need not be a chamber to be haunted. by Emily Dickinson.
Sailing to Byzantium. by Yeats
Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Eve. by Robert Frost.
Paul Kelly couldn't get permission to use Frost's words so he remade the poem as an Australian scene. he did use the last lines by Frost. For I have promises to keep/and miles to go before I sleep.

Kelly used one Australian poem.
Five Bells . by Kenneth Slessor.
Slessor is sometimes listed as one of the classic bush poets. I think that is a mistake. I think Slessor was arguably the first or maybe the best, to make Australian poetry modern.

Paul Kelly's music was perfect for the poems. ( you can hear it on ABC RN website )
It was great stuff but I still play my Beethoven records in the car and sing along with Ode to Joy.

[Zondrae]

G'day Neville,

I have book of Paul Kelly's poems. I think I have read them but I must not have been too impressed.
Must hunt it out and have another look.
I'l get back to you.

[Heather]

Matt - a bad influence? Never!!! (Only a little bit - Mae be)

Sounds like a great program Neville; I wish I had heard it. I loooove Paul Kelly. He joined me one New Year's Eve - just Paul, me, the stars and a bottle of tia maria! What a night! I've got several of his albums and several favourite songs. His lyrics are great.

I heard an interview on the radio with Paul Kelly a couple of months ago and he sounded like a really grounded and humble man. I'd love to see him live.

I think you are widening your horizons Neville.

Heather

[Heather]

Neville,don't feel left out. I grew up with classical music (with a bit of The Seekers thrown in) - the musical choice of my father - and it wasn't until I hit high school that I discovered what "pop" music was. I felt very underdone.

I only found Paul Kelly about 3 years ago. I had heard some of his songs of course but never owned an album (does use of the word "album" show my age?) You should give him a burl in the car - up loud mind - good for the soul. Also good for bopping along to belly dancing style! Now, that I can see you doing Neville!

I discovered a folk singer - Mandy Connell, at the Newstead festival last January and her music and lyrics are poetry to my ears.

[warooa]

Good onya Nev. Sounds like a great show. That's the beauty of it all . . . it was Paul Kelly who introduced me to the paintings of Pual Cezanne and the stories of Raymond Carver (amongst others).

Next thing we know you'll be rockin' along to the lyrical wit of Tim Rodgers and You Am I.

Cheers, Marty

[Neville Briggs]

Thanks Heather. If your local library has internet, you can listen to the program again on the web site. ABC RN.
You cannot see me belly dancing !!!

You talk about seeing someone live Heather. I heard a recording of an interview done years ago with an elderly Australian composer Alfred Hill. Alfred Hill played in an orchestra that was conducted by such people as Tchaikovsky, Brahms and Grieg. Amazing experience.


Thanks Matt. Classical music is strictly speaking, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms.
Classic music goes all the way from the Renaissance to modern times. I think you could even include movie scores in the classic tradition. e.g. Maurice Jarre,John Williams, Barrington Pheloung ( Inspector Morse music) Howard Goodall ( Blackadder, Mr Bean ).
The man who invented movie music ( before movies existed ) was Richard Wagner.

Kenneth Slessor is not always easy to deal with but I am working on it. Les Murray claims to have built on the inspiration of Slessor, so I am working on that too.

Marty, anyone who has introduced you to Paul Cezanne is a giver of wonderful gifts.
I haven't time to rock along. I have to listen right through the boxed CD set of Daniel Barenboim conducts the complete Beethoven symphonies.

And talking of CDs. I found a CD of Peter Cundall ( The former ABC gardening man ) reciting classic war poems . Peter Cundall was an SAS soldier in WW2. It's very good,
if you can survive 90 minutes of carnage and sorrow.

[Heather]

Actually Neville, I would really like to see that!

I've never been to a large live concert. (Only small festivals). That, and the fireworks over Sydney Harbour are on the list.

Are you owrse for eawr today Marty?

[Neville Briggs]

Worse, yeah I know Marty, I could be found listening to Australia Has Talent. aaaaaahhhhhhgggg.

[Stephen Whiteside]

Paul Kelly is a fantastic songwriter, but he's also a good example of how song has taken over from poetry. I agree with Zondrae to some extent. If Kelly's lyrics were published as poetry - without having first been published as songs - they wouldn't cut it. The only reason they are so accepted is that the people who buy the book have the songs in their head. If you buy the book without having first heard the songs, the lyrics probably aren't going to work very well for you.

When people turn to the modern day equivalents of Paterson and Lawson, they don't think of poets, they think of songwriters - John Williamson, Paul Kelly, etc.

It raises an interesting point. If Banjo Paterson was born today, would he still be a poet? Probably not. Would he be a songwriter? Perhaps. Maybe he would write for film or TV. Or maybe he'd work for Murdoch or Fairfax as a political journalist.

Paul Kelly has written an autobiography. As has Bob Dylan. As has Neil Murray. Perhaps the message is that all writers - even poets - should try to work in a range of genres.

[Neville Briggs]

Interesting point Stephen. Some people think John Lennon was a poet, I don't know, could be, but of course his lyrics are still widely known and remembered.

I think that the link between poetry and music has been around for a long time. It's interesting to reflect whether nusic gets the more enduring interest .

In the famous operetta duo of Gilbert and Sullivan, I had heard that William Gilbert who was a marvellous poet and wrote brilliant lyrcis for the G&S works, believed rather bitterly that he had been overlooked as the lesser artist, and his partner the musician Arthur Sullivan had received much more honours and renown.

These days, Banjo Paterson would probably write poetry for Quadrant
didn't Henry Lawson do something for an advertising jingle?