Dear Gary, Thank you for letting us see this extraordinary list of dos and don'ts compiled by a Nazi Gauleiter with regard to jazz. State interference in the performance of music is a sure sign that something is seriously wrong.
In Great Britain you are not allowed to play sacred music at a civil wedding ceremony. On one occasion, when the bride was very late arriving, we musicians had to keep playing for a long time to keep everyone entertained. When I announced that we would next play Bach's Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring, the registrar stepped forward and told us that we were not allowed to play it, because it was sacred music. On another occasion, in a different part of the country, I was required to submit details of all music to played at a civil ceremony weeks beforehand, so that the registrar could vet the music, and ensure that the programme did not include any sacred pieces. A couple getting married at a civil ceremony cannot request music with sacred connotations, whatever reason they may have for wanting it played. Ironically, the Anglican Church allows any music, sacred or not, to be played during wedding ceremonies. Best wishes, Stewart McCoy. -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Gary Digman Sent: 13 March 2012 08:38 To: [email protected] Subject: [LUTE] Re: Nazi rules for jazz performers Famed Czech radical Josef Skvorecky recently died at 87 in his adopted land of Canada. In the Atlantic, JJ Gould remembers Skvorecky through his memoirs, including a detailed list of the rules for jazz performers during the Nazi occupation. The Reich's Gauleiter for the Nazi Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia issued a 10-point regulation that Gould calls "the single most remarkable example of 20th-century totalitarian invective against jazz." To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
