I certainly do not consider myself to be overly chauvinistic or a
jingoist. However, in consideration of all our country has done for
the world over the past two hundred years in terms of global aide and
other charitable acts, I am much more than sick and tired of being
portrayed as the cosmic "Bad Guy." What other nation would even
consider emasculating the performance of its National Anthem in fear
that the rest of the world might be offended by its rightfully earned
pride? And, where is the outrage over the HOST crowd preventing the
start of a race via the jeering directed at three Americans who simply
came to their country to compete in an environment of purported equal
access and non bias? Considering the fact that the situation was
caused by the misdeeds of a dishonorable Greek athlete in the first
place, one is truly disgusted and shocked by this indefensible
behavior. As for the the emotional effect of our National Anthem, I
prefer a version which constricts my throat muscles and produces
horripilation, rather than one which equivocates and apologizes for our
existence in the face of an ungrateful world.
Dean M. Estabrook, American
On Aug 27, 2004, at 11:35 PM, Brad Beyenhof wrote:
On Fri, 27 Aug 2004 21:45:01 -0700, Richard Yates
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
I like the arrangement that is being used in the Olympics this time
around.
The '..rockets red glare' section is sweet and peaceful. Not a good
match
for the words, but better than an a swaggering march.
There was a discussion recently on the mailing list of the Society for
Music Theory. Below are a couple of excerpts.
-Brad
******
I had heard that the American athletes were instructed to be low-key
and respectful if they win, so as not to provoke anti-American
sentiments during this wartime.
Was this version of the SSB chosen for similar reasons? To be less
aggressive and less militaristic? Interestingly, the arrangement
becomes most obfuscating and divergent from the "standard" version when
it gets to the line "bombs bursting in air".
******
Columnist Maureen Dowd wrote about this very thing in her column today.
Her opinion was that the musical arrangement was tailored to put the
USA
in a "softer" light.
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Para mí, la música es la respiración de la vida y del dios.
Per me, la musica è l'alito di vita e del dio.
Pour moi, la musique est le souffle de la vie et de Dieu.
Für mich ist Musik der Atem des Lebens und des Gottes.
Dean M. Estabrook
Director of Music
St. Andrew Presbyterian Church
Yuba City, CA
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