Friday, October 24, 2014

Forgotten Voices: The Bell Song

(Radio Digest from 1931 with Lily Pons on cover)

I haven't posted much music on my blog lately, but I've just finished another piece in my "Forgotten Voices" collection and I'd like to share it with you (you can also see "Streak of Moonlight" and "My Name is Romance" for the other pieces in this collection so far).

"Forgotten Voices" is based on the idea of using voices from old radio broadcasts of the 1930s as the foundation for new music I create.  I don't sing, so I think this is a fun way to get some human voices into my pieces without worrying too much about infringing on copyrights (see my BOTB post with The Verve for good reasons why it's best to avoid sampling material with protected copyrights).

In searching for some vocal material to use for a song, I came across a recording that just said it was from a radio broadcast of a piece called "The Bell Song" aria from sometime in the 1930s. I loved the haunting voice and started to build a tune around some samples from it.  I chopped and rearranged, adjusted timing, added MIDI drums, some keyboards, bass, some bell sounds, and nine or ten guitar tracks (rhythm, fills, and leads).

This piece took a long time to make, but I like how it turned out.  Take a listen and then I'll talk a little more about the source vocal samples (HERE's the link ot it at SoundCloud if the embedded player below doesn't work):


Thanks for listening!  I really appreciate that, and I hope you enjoyed what I did with this.

But, as I mentioned above about those vocal samples from the radio:

While recording this (it took a long time to put all the pieces together), I did some searching and discovered, that "The Bell Song" is actually a well-known aria from an opera called "Lakme" written by Leo Delibes in 1882. It was performed many times during the 1920s to 1940s by the famous opera singer Lily Pons. It became her "featured piece" and was strongly associated with her. She even did it in a 1935 movie starring Lily Pons and Henry Fonda called "I Dream Too Much".

And I'm pretty sure that's Lily Pons singing in the samples I've used in my re-imagined "The Bell Song".

Which this brings up the questions:

Is a "famous" singer doing a well-known aria really a "forgotten voice?"  Also, one of the points of using old radio "forgotten voices" is to avoid infringing on copyrights -- so how loose of footing am I on here?

Well, I think the first question may be valid, but it's still been around 80 years or so since the samples I used were originally recorded, and Lily's been deceased since 1976. And I think there's likely a good percentage of people who've never heard of her. So I'll give this question a, "not preferred, but acceptable" answer. While I really enjoyed making this, in general I'd much rather use truly unknown or "forgotten" voices.

As to the copyright:  That is definitely a valid question.  But after some thought and research, here's what I think.

-- With recordings, there are actually two areas of copyright.  The written song itself and the recording of a particular performance (that's why the Verve had to settle out of court twice).  Here, the actual song was written in 1882 and I'm pretty certain it's now in the public domain.  I doubt if the estate of Leo Delibes has any qualms about me using samples of the aria from his opera.

-- But the recording could be an issue.  For example, if the download I sampled was from the soundtrack of the 1935 movie, then RKO Pictures could still own the copyright or it has passed through a legitimate and legal chain of ownership since.  But after listening, I'm pretty sure the samples I've used are NOT from that soundtrack.  Plus, there are also tons of other versions of Lily Pons doing this aria out there on the Internet, and to my ears, it doesn't sound like I've used any of the ones that I found on YouTube.  Like I said, it was her "signature piece" and was performed many, many times by her.  So I'm acting in good faith that the version I've used was recorded specifically for a radio broadcast and that the origin has been lost through the years.

-- However, just because I don't know exactly where a recording of a radio program comes from it does not technically remove me from any legal obligations to the true copyright holder. But that's a risk with the whole "Forgotten Voices" concept -- In all of these songs, the original source recordings and copyrights are potentially lost through the years, and so I'm doing my best to not intentionally infringe on anyone known (or likely to even still care).

-- Also, with the "Forgotten Voices" pieces, I'm only using small samples and am clearly adding my own "new" material, So it is obvious that I'm not trying to just reissue and profit from someone else's work -- I'm hopefully adding enough of "me" that I'm creating entirely "original" material.

-- Finally, I'm also clearly not trying to profit from anyone's work because I'm not -- you know -- making ANY profit.  I'm sharing these freely and not charging a thing. This points to the "intent" of using these samples. What I'm doing may not cleanly fall under the "Fair Use," guidelines, but I'm at least definitely trying to minimize damages to any potential copyright holders who may still be out there somewhere.

So that covers my legal thoughts -- but what about my recording itself?

Well as always -- I really hope you enjoyed it, and I'm happy to hear any feedback you might care to offer.

Thanks again for listening!

20 comments:

  1. That's beautifully haunting Chris. I would have listened to just the music, its great background for blogging or writing. Wouldn't inspire a house cleaning frenzy though :) I don't know anything about music copyrights, but if you give credit to the originals, I doubt you'd have a problem. So much music has been copied and redone. I like what you've done with this. Yes, I think it is original.

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  2. Thanks, Donna! I'm really glad you enjoyed it and I appreciate your comments and feedback!

    But as for just giving credit to the original: I've seen many places from writing and other sources that attribution is not the same as permission -- you're still potentially encroaching on copyright infringement without explicit permission to use the source material in your own work.

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  3. Chris, you created a really beautiful rendition. Lovely!

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    1. Thank you so very much, Cherdo! I really appreciate that!

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  4. GgC (Guitar god Chris) ~
    Wow, that was really cool! I like the concept and also dig what you did with it. Love that moody atmosphere you created.

    Surprisingly, although I am not and never have been into opera, I am familiar with the name Lily Pons. I am not a musician, but I am a heavy reader on a number of subjects including music, and I suppose if one reads enough they will eventually come across all the famous names.

    At first, I didn't really like that high-pitched "screeching" Lily was doing, which was ruining the cool music you'd created, but after awhile I got used to it and accepted it. But only because your music helped cushion the blow, so to speak.

    Say, are you familiar with the movie 'The Legend Of 1900'? If not, you might enjoy the piano duel scene I've posted on my BOTB blog. Regardless of whether or not someone likes the musical choices of it, the theatricality of the scene should be appreciated.

    Thanks for giving us a taste of your new music. I genuinely like it!

    ~ D-FensDogg
    'Loyal American Underground'

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    1. Thank you, Mr. Mac! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

      You know what? I'm not an opera guy. I just happened to like the stark solo voice and control and range in Lily's singing when I stumbled on the clip I found, and I thought it would be kind of fun and weird to try and merge it with my normal guitar jamming creations, and I think it turned out okay.

      And thanks for the heads up about the 1900 clip -- I liked the duel in the scene!

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  5. That was hauntingly beautiful. Holy carp, I'm seriously impressed. What an exceptional idea - the 'forgotten voices' thing. I sincerely hope you never get into any 'trouble' over it.

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    1. Wow -- thank you so much FAE! I'm very happy you liked it!

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  6. 'Also, one of the points of using old radio "forgotten voices" is to avoid infringing on copyrights -- so how loose of footing am I on here?'

    :)

    Keep sampling. That's all I have to say. The human family is an ever-evolving beast. You are a part of Lily Pons' journey, bringing her largely-forgotten voice into another century. You heard it and it sparked something in you, enough to create both an homage and an original. I think it's a beautiful thing.

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    1. Thank you, Suze! I'm glad you liked it!

      And I hope Lily don't mind the liberties I took with her "signature piece." :)

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  7. Love this! It's haunting, beautiful, and a unique juxtaposition of styles. I'd like to hear more of this sort of thing. Don't know anything about the copyright issues, but this is some wonderful music that is very tasteful.

    Forgotten? Not to a few maybe, but mostly unknown to the masses who need to be introduced to timeless high art. This is one way to do that.

    Lee
    Wrote By Rote

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    1. Thanks, Lee! I really, really appreciate that! I've very glad you liked it. It was a fun thing to put together. :)

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  8. This is a great idea and an amazing composition, Chris! Wow! As fas as I know, pieces in literature (I think it's pretty similar in music) become public domain after 100 years of original publication, or upon the author's death. So I think you might be game. =) Good luck in your creative endeavours!

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    1. Thank you so much, Gina!

      I wish you tremendous luck in yours, too!

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  9. Wow, I've never heard anything quite like this before. By George, I think you're onto something! The juxtaposition of her clear, albeit old-fashioned sounding voice and your more modern music creates a haunting and unusual effect. Love it!

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    1. Thank you, Susan! I'm really glad you liked it!

      But, ummm... who's George? ;)

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  10. You know what's funny (though I'm not sure you're going to laugh)? I like everything about this except her voice. I think you did a great job mixing it in, but that kind of singing is just not my personal cup of tea---adn clearly I'm in the minority since others thought it worth recording over and over again.

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    1. Thanks, Nicki! But you're not alone -- Stepjhen above called her singing "screeching." It's an acquired taste, and truthfully, Opera's not really something I listen to. I greatly respect the talent and musicianship, but it's not my normal 'go-to' music,lol! I just liked the stark solo singing and thought it would be a weird-but-fun thing to build a song around.

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  11. I do really like it. The mix is wonderful, and her voice is awesome. As a vocalist, at least, that's my opinion. It makes me wonder how many amazing performers we've missed through the ages that were never recorded.

    Unleashing the Dreamworld

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    1. I appreciate that, Crystal! And I knew you'd like Lily's singing.

      Interesting point -- I'm sure there have been countless artists who had amazing talents that's now long lost to history.

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Don't be shy -- feel free to comment. I really appreciate your thoughts.