Remember ROSEMARY BROWN?

[Dee]

Hi BR people. This is a first and I'm a little nervous ... Anyway, recently I was talking with a friend and we were reminiscing about Rosemary Brown, the English 'medium' who claimed to speak to the great composers. She supposedly took musical dictation and 'received' Beethoven's 10th, a new piano concerto from Lizst, etc. You get the picture. And, oh yea, she had only a few piano lessons as a child. Does anyone remember her and know what she's up to? I would guess she's giving dictation by now.[/b]

[jamiebk]

Welcome to the pit Dee. I hope you find the BBB to your liking and get involved with some good topics and commentary.

I do not recall the person to whom you are referring. There are a number of musicians though who claim to be receiving guidance from the great ones. I think Virgil Fox believed that Bach spoke through him...who knows??

[navneeth]

Hello, Dee! Welcome to the forum.

What you say about this Rosemary Brown is very interesting. Guess she could've solved many mysteries and controversies surrounding classical music, but NO, she would only take musical dictation on Brahms' 1st symphony.

But you're right. According to this Wikipedia article, she's the one doing the dictating for over five years.

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

Welcome, Dee. No, sorry to say, I don't remember any musical mediums. I wonder if the music is any good? Do you suppose any of it has been performed?

[OperaTenor]

Hi Dee, welcome to the Pit!

[Dee]

Hello again BR. Thanks for your warm welcome. I'm not so sure about Mrs Brown. I believe there is a recording of her channeled works but, the material is considered 'substandard' stuff done in the style of the respective dead composer. She fooled even the BBC. At best, Mrs B was a musical 'illusionist'. They're opening up that burial site in the Middle East soon. Perhaps we'll see her again? (I feel a Geraldo moment coming..)

[Shapley]

Hello, Dee. Welcome to the B.com BB!

I do vaguely recall news reports on the channeling, but I didn't recall the woman's name. I remeber 'experts' telling us that the music was 'in the style of' the famous composers. I don't think it takes much to be a media expert. I recall that there were those that authenticated the Hitler Diaries and the 'fake but accurate' George Bush memo.

If the works were authentic, however, it is entirely undersandable that the channeled works might not be up to the standard of those produced when the composers were alive. After all those years spent decomposing, it may be a bit difficult to get back into the swing of composing again.

Channeling was a big thing back in the '80s and early '90s, I recall. Seems like every warrior-prince that ever lived, and a quite a few that didn't, were able to find a medium to channel for them. Amazing that, after all those years of silence, they finally found a voice. I don't hear much about it these days. I don't know if there was some cosmic alignment that allowed them all to make contact, and that connetion is now broken, or if the fad just wore out. I suspect the latter.

V/R
Shapley

[Shapley]

Rosemary Brown CD

[Trumpetmaster]

Welcome to the pit Dee!!!!

[Dee]

Shapley says..

"After all those years spent decomposing, it may be a bit difficult to get back into the swing of composing again."




.....I love that!! May I use it?

cheers,
Dee

[treebeau]

.....I love that!! May I use it?

You might as well...HE did.
It's an old joke. What's Beethoven been doing for the last 200 years? Decomposing. Ba dum-CHING !


Welcome Dee.

Regards,
Tim B.

[Shapley]

.....I love that!! May I use it?

Certainly.

Treebeau is right, BTW. We've used the composing/decomposing joke many times on this forum. We change the context now and then, but it's well worn.

Monty Python has a song called Decomposing Composers that B.com used to play occassionally on the Classical Comedy segment on Friday mornings. It's pretty good, if you get a chance to hear it.

V/R
Shapley

[Shapley]

Rosemary Brown's life
was a curious affair.
In a world full of mediums
she was a medium rare.

Most mediums speak
but the words of the dead.
But Rosemary penned music
dead composers placed in her head.

Or so we are to believe
if we take her at her word.
Though from composer to composition
the connection seems blurred.

To the great Franz Liszt
I am compelled to doff my hat.
Though the works he gave Rosemary,
I'm afraid fell somewhat flat.

Perhaps if Gustave Mahler
had come to her and penned
for his tenth symphony
an appropriate end.

Death, it seems, leaves the composers'
skills somewhat diminished.
Even Schubert opted to leave,
his eight symphony unfinished.

Though experts reviewed her music
and some they did laud,
to most of the world Rosemary
was just a curious fraud.

And now with the dead composers
with whom she chummed around
Rosemary has joined them
in the cold, barren ground.

But there is hope! Perhaps
to some fortune tellers booth,
Rosemary will drop by
and tell us the truth!

William Shakespeare asked me to write that!

[Serenity]

Wow, Shap you have a gift. Can you turn from Shapespeare to Seuss?

[Shapley]

I'll see if I can get in touch with him...

Rosemary Brown, her life was odd,
composing music and committing fraud.

She gave us music she hoped would sell,
if we thought it was from Heaven, or from Hell.

She wrote music with Liszt and Bach,
And with Beethoven, and with Rach.

The music wasn't good, but it could be worse.
It's not as bad as a dead poet's verse!

Well, I'm not sure if that was Theo or not, you know these spirits all look alike.

[treebeau]

Shap:

Very good.
(and you went from "bard" to "verse". ba dum-ching!)

Regards,
Tim B.

[Shapley]

(and you went from "bard" to "verse". ba dum-ching!)

[Shapley]

Rosemary Brown, she pulled a trick,
which really, in retrospect, was quite slick.

Composing her music she quickly found,
better to sell if the composer were renowned.

Though in searching, it really suprised her,
the trick had been pulled by Fritz Kreisler.

So she added a twist, rather than old music found,
she claimed it was composed from beneath the ground.

Dead composers, she claimed, came to her and wrote,
new compositions, note by note.

Though the press seemed to buy the story in full,
She couldn't hide the fact that the music was dull.

[Serenity]

[OperaTenor]

Shap, I think you need to resurrect the "Something Completely Different" thread...