In further discussions about the global impact steelpan music of Lord Kitchener's "Pan in A Minor" - a colleague of mine made the following observation.
Strangely, Symphony In G, which predates Pan in A Minor by a decade, is also a in minor key and has a more classic feel, but never had the global impact. It could be 1) Kitch should have named it Pan in G Minor, or, more plausibly, Pan was yet to go global in 1979. Plus, there was no Panorama that year. Then again, none of the above is always a good choice, when trying to predict human behavior or you’re guessing like I am.
What do you think?
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Nutones Symphony In G classic version...http://youtu.be/7k8DSpJTGns
Thanks odw this is a beautiful rendition.
Not having a Panorama the year Symphony in G came out, adversely impacted its long-term appeal and acceptance as a masterpiece. There have been some good pan renditions of the piece but in my opinion nothing of a panorama standard rendition. Although Pan in A-Minor is an iconic tune by anyone's standard, it was the Renegades rendition of that song that to this day is the engine behind its appeal and acceptance. There have been other superior quality renditions of the tune, for example the Desperadoes panorama rendition, but for some reason the Renegades rendition has become a global obsession.
Renegades' Pan In A Minor was the standout piece on what I believe was the first internationally-released CD of bands from Trinidad, "Steelbands of Trinidad and Tobago" on the Delos label in 1987. That was augmented by the availability of a score of the arrangement from Panyard, Inc, which while far from being the only arrangement that has been scored (the company transcribed Renegades, Desperadoes, Phase II, Fonclaire over a period of ten years), is very popular for a bevy of reasons, foremost being that Jit's arrangement is perfect...
Hi Noah, thanks for the info you provided. I did not know about the music score from Panyard Inc. Strangely enough I had the CD you mentioned but no longer do . I took over a school pan program that Ray Holman was running out here in Seattle and one of the kids borrowed that CD and never returned it. To this day I have been trying to replace it but have been unable to do so. As far as Jits perfect arrangement, no argument here. I have it ranked right up there with Desperadoes Obeah Wedding and Smooth's/All Stars rendition of Curry Tabanca. It definitely has stood the test of time.
How could anyone compare any of these Masterpieces? Its like try to compare any of the Great Works of Shakespeare or Plato! The truth is we can only learn from these Great Works of A Grand Master, The Lord Kitchener, Aldwin Roberts.
one day i hope to join the two pieces, and call it Pan symphony in G and A minor, the verses are similiar, u know
You know how sometimes you have a good movie that's fairly successful, and then there is a sequel that receives all the promotion and advertising and becomes a giant hit?
That's how I think of "Symphony" and "A Minor" .
If you think about it , "Pan in A Minor" is almost a sequel to "Symphony in G".
After all, in both instances the theme is the same.
But I seem to remember that the score for Jit's arrangement of "Pan In A Minor" was made available with the Panorama CDs put out by Sanch.
You would notice that many of the international arrangements are based not on the original calypso, but on Jit's arrangement.
This tune was far more available worldwide in 1987 than "Symphony" was in 79, also because of changes in technology.
Apart from being in the wax record album era, "Symphony" also had the disadvantage of appearing in 1979, the year of the steelband strike.
Both tunes are great classics, but though one has received more acclaim than the other, I couldn't choose between them.
I know one thing, though.
As great a tune as it is, "Pan in A Minor" didn't blow my mind the way "Symphony in G" did in 1979, and anyone who could remember back then should relate.
And BTW, if an arranger was responsible for the difference in popularity between these tunes, it certainly wasn't Leston Paul, as much as I respect him.
It was Jit Samaroo.
Glenroy;
Noted journalist, panist and arranger for Highlanders Steel Orchestra Les Slater says in his now landmark document "Lord Kitchener and Pan Music: A Match Made in Heaven"
Clearly Kitchener changed gears with the release of this tune. His musical vision for the steelpan, steelpan music and calypso all came togather with the musical statement made by "Symphony in G". Clive Bradley would often say to us at WST that the Trinidad folk music was equal to any music in the world. Bradley said it, live it and did it - so it is somewhat ironic and the same time expected that he, Bradley, would be the arranger to choose "Symphony in G" in 1979 for Desperadoes. I am not aware of any other version "Symphony in G" being played by any other steel orchestra.
He too is at the top of my list when it comes to knowlege and understanding of pan and its culture.
And I hate saying this but The Grand Master set the bar so high when it comes to compositions for and about the pan , that most contemporary composers of so called "pan tunes" are doomed to fall short.
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